A throng is a large, tightly packed crowd of people. When hundreds of fans push together outside a concert venue hoping to catch a glimpse of their favorite band, they form a throng. When shoppers crowd into a store on Black Friday, eager to grab the best deals, they throng through the doors.

The word suggests density and pressure, with people packed closely together, often moving with shared energy or purpose. You might see throngs of tourists thronging the streets of a popular city during summer, or throngs of students thronging the cafeteria at lunchtime.

While crowd is a neutral term, throng carries a sense of excitement, urgency, or intensity. Picture the difference between people casually gathered in a park versus excited fans thronging around a celebrity at an airport. The throng surges forward, pulses with energy, and moves almost like a single organism.

Used as a verb, to throng means to gather or move in a throng: “People thronged the plaza to watch the fireworks.”