herd
/həːd
/noun
1A large group of animals, especially hoofed mammals, that live together or are kept together as livestock: a herd of elephants farms with big dairy herds...
- There's variety in the animals and produce and the freedom to focus on the aspects you most enjoy, such as foregoing a big garden in favor of a herd of animals.
- The latest foot and mouth outbreak in Brazil has affected 153 animals in a herd of 582 cattle and eight pigs.
- The idea is to move the livestock into bigger herds and move them around more.
Synonyms
flock, drove, pack, group, collection, fold
1.1 derogatory A large group of people with a shared characteristic: I dodged herds of joggers he is not of the common herd...
- Get an alpine start by leaving Longs Peak Ranger Station no later than 2 a.m. to beat the storms and the herds of Denverites who crowd the trail all summer.
- Friday night Bingo crowds were typically large herds of older females.
- I found myself shouting insults at the telly when I saw herds of women virtually knocking each other unconscious to get at the Stella McCartney clothes in H & M.
Synonyms
crowd, group, bunch, horde, mass, mob, host, pack, multitude, throng, swarm, army, company, press
the common people, the masses, the public, the people, the rank and file, the populace, the multitude, the crowd, the commonality, the commonalty, the third estate, the plebeians
derogatory the hoi polloi, the mob, the proletariat, the common herd, the rabble, the riff-raff, the canaille, the ragtag (and bobtail), the great unwashed, the proles, the plebs, the peasants
verb
1 [with adverbial of direction] (With reference to a group of people or animals) move in a group: [with object]: they were herded into a bus [no object]: we all herded into a storage room...
- The kids are to be deposited at the school, herded into minibuses and driven up while the adults walk.
- Some demonstrators were injured and five reportedly arrested when the police suddenly moved forward to herd people off the roadway.
- If you want to build a ship, don't herd together people to gather wood divide the work and give orders.
Synonyms
drive, round up, shepherd, gather, collect, assemble, guide, kettle
crowd, pack, flock;
cluster, huddle, group, gather
2 [with object] Keep or look after (livestock): they live by herding reindeer...
- Children provide much-needed labor in herding livestock and farming.
- He will be prepared to participate in political change, engage in rebuilding his country, or return to herding livestock.
- Unlike most dog breeds, it continues to be bred, used and valued for its original purpose - herding livestock.
Synonyms
look after, take care of, keep, tend, watch, watch over, mind, guard
Origin
Old English heord, of Germanic origin; related to German Herde.