herds 1 of 2

noun

plural of herd
1
as in flocks
a group of domestic animals assembled or herded together the great herds of cattle that cowboys once drove across the plains

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance
2
as in masses
the body of the community as contrasted with the elite aspire to achieve something, to distinguish yourself from the herd

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in swarms
a great number of persons or things massed together gearing up for the herd of holiday shoppers at the mall on the day after Thanksgiving

Synonyms & Similar Words

herds

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of herd
as in drives
to urge, push, or force onward the guards briskly herded us through the museum in order to prevent overcrowding

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of herds
Noun
Livestock herds take years to rebuild to pre-drought levels. — Bruce Blythe, Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 June 2026 Vast herds of zebra, wildebeest, and gazelle moved across the horizon. — Sherry McAllister, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 Expect to spy herds of elephants or noisy hippos wading in the river just a few feet away. — Todd Plummer, Robb Report, 19 June 2026 This island has two main herds which span both Maryland and Virginia. — Madeline Gunderson, USA Today, 17 June 2026 Large pathogen-free herds are sustained for selective breeding and organ production. — Torie Bosch, STAT, 20 June 2026 The route then passes through the mountain town of Jackson and runs alongside the National Elk Refuge, which protects one of the country's largest elk herds. — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 1 July 2026 Federal authorities last year ordered the removal of herds from protected Indigenous territory on the world's largest river island, Bananal Island. — ABC News, 19 June 2026 During the Sudanese civil war, South Sudan’s elephant population plummeted from 100,000 to 5,000 over three decades, as herds of gentle bystanders got caught in the crossfire. — The Los Angeles Times, Mercury News, 18 June 2026
Verb
The father gently herds his family toward her glass booth. — Joseph Trinidad, Longreads, 16 June 2026 However, one quick look at what companies like Boston Dynamics has achieved with robots like the rather creepy dog-like ‘Spot,’ who herds sheep in New Zealand, and the possibilities seem endless. — Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 27 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for herds
  1. flocks
  2. crowds
  3. swarms
  4. drives
  5. publics
  6. throngs
  7. mobs
  8. hordes
Noun
  • As of April 2026 there were around 62 active bird flu cases in the US, 39 of them commercial and 23 in backyard flocks, poultry scientist Dervan Bryan told Campus Insights Media.
    — Ryan Brennan, Miami Herald, 2 July 2026
  • After their return to the Negev Lot and Abraham both have large flocks of livestock, but their herders begin to quarrel.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 July 2026
Definition of flocks
Noun
  • Fourth of July celebrations in Newport Beach, California, a coastal city in Orange County, led to over 400 arrests after large crowds became disorderly, according to police.
    — Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 7 July 2026
  • Iran’s semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency (ISNA) wrote about the 1989 funeral earlier this week, describing how the enormous crowds exceeded the numbers expected by authorities.
    — Xiaoqian Lin, CNN Money, 6 July 2026
Definition of crowds
Noun
  • Their strategy focuses on low-cost drone swarms, maximizing pilot effectiveness.
    — David Hambling, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026
  • Every wedding, every cherry blossom season in Japan, every birth, reactor accidents too, swarms of insects, kittens playing with woolen balls, people disfigured by war, palm trees at sunset—five billion photos a day.
    — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026
Definition of swarms
Verb
  • By stripping out parts and, crucially, reducing the number of unique parts, the company shortens manufacturing time, raises reliability, and drives down cost, all at once.
    — John Koetsier, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • Fire shelters are mandatory equipment for crews who work across rugged terrain where things can change at a moment’s notice, especially when extremely dry and windy weather drives the flames, as happened last Saturday.
    — Jack Dura, Los Angeles Times, 2 July 2026
Definition of drives
Noun
  • But that one course, Sugarloaf Golf Club, is also one of the few publics in the Northeast to have made Golf Digest’s Top 100, a Robert Trent Jones II classic with drop dead views on nearly every hole, carved from a gorgeous wilderness teeming with moose and other wildlife.
    — Larry Olmsted, Forbes.com, 21 June 2026
  • Museums are sincerely trying to connect with their publics (even if these are often cast as consumers), and the horizon for that experiment is almost limitless.
    — Katy Siegel, Artforum, 2 June 2026
Definition of publics
Noun
  • With their billowing sails, teakwood decks and mazes of ropes and rigging, ships like Eagle draw throngs of visitors hoping to get a glimpse of the past.
    — Karissa Waddick, USA Today, 1 July 2026
  • The throngs of teenagers doing back flips into the Canal Saint-Martin and playing soccer in the street set the mood for the week.
    — Julissa James, Los Angeles Times, 1 July 2026
Definition of throngs
Noun
  • In 2008, xenophobic riots left more than 60 dead — some burned alive by mobs — and tens of thousands displaced.
    — Kate Bartlett, NPR, 25 June 2026
  • The New York Anti-Abolition Riots began as mobs attacked large swaths of New York City, targeting homes, churches and businesses of Black residents and known abolitionists.
    — USA Today, USA Today, 24 June 2026
Definition of mobs
Noun
  • With plenty of nervous energy, hordes of United States fans packed into KC Live!
    — Nathan Pilling, Kansas City Star, 2 July 2026
  • And now, Swift’s fans are set to descend on the city, accompanied by hordes of media who until recently had little to no concrete information about the hush-hush affair.
    — Alli Rosenbloom, CNN Money, 1 July 2026
Definition of hordes

Browse Nearby Words

herding
herds
herdsman
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Cite this Entry

“Herds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/herds. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on herds

Nglish: Translation of herds for Spanish Speakers

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