Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
crowding

crowding

9 2.1
A large number of people in a small place that makes it feel cramped
  • noun
  • /ˈkraʊdɪŋ/
translation icon : aglomeración
  • The prolonged exposure to high residential density is related to negative feelings of crowding and social behavior.
  • household crowding
  • noise and crowding
  • crowding effect

Examples

  • Many people complained about the crowding at the concert, which made it hard to enjoy the show.

  • The crowding in the subway during rush hour makes it difficult to move around.

  • Increased noise and crowding were two concerns expressed during the focus group.

    Academic text (1997)

  • Other families were doing the same, making a rare crowding in the passage.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Emergency department crowding causes two serious issues that expose patients to the potential for harm.

    Academic text (2015)

  • Overall, the suggestions focused primarily on lessening crowding, improving services, and improving facilities.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Large class sizes and the resulting crowding may negatively affect student attitudes.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Contributing factors include population shifts, increased urbanization and crowding, environmental changes, and worldwide commerce and travel.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Despite the crowding, a handful of new, paying customers came aboard, including 30-year-old Ann Annis, traveling with her husband and young daughter.

    Remember the Sultana (2015)

  • During the festival, crowding was so intense that some vendors ran out of supplies.

Synonyms

concentration
vscrowding
115 3.5

A large number of people or things gathered in one place

focuses on gathering action rather than on the cramped feeling
jam
vscrowding
76 2.7

A crowd of people or vehicles that blocks movement

describes many people together without necessarily blocking movement
overcrowding
vscrowding
22 2.8

Too many people or things in one place causing problems

is more about a large number making a place feel cramped
crush
vscrowding
16 3.4

A large, tightly packed group of people in one place

is about many people in an area rather than an extremely dense mass
press
vscrowding
14 5.1

A tightly packed group of people in a small space

is about general gathering, not a tightly pressed group
over-crowding
vscrowding
3.1

Too many people in one place, making it uncomfortable and hard to move

is the general sense of many people making areas congested
crowdedness
vscrowding
3.6

A place that is very full of people and hard to move in

is the idea of many gathered that makes spaces feel cramped

Antonyms

emptiness
14 3.6

A space or place that has nothing in it

spaciousness
1 4.1

The feeling that a room or building is large and has plenty of space

Compounds

over-crowding
3.1

Too many people in one place, making it uncomfortable and hard to move

How Crowded

overcrowding
22 2.8
crowding
9 2.1
sparsity
1 7.6
emptiness
14 3.6

Surface Forms

crowding singular
crowdings plural

Morphology

crowding = crowd (transparent) = crowd + ing

The noun sense is a standard gerund/nominalization from the verb 'crowd' with the productive suffix '-ing', so the meaning is directly derived.

Etymology

The word crowding comes from the simple word crowd, which means 'a group pressing close together' and the verb crowd once meant 'to push together'. So, crowding is when many people or things press into the same small space and it feels cramped.