Table of contents
Collective nouns for animals
Collective nouns for people
Collective nouns for things
What are collective nouns?
Imagine you saw many birds flying together. Instead of saying, “Look at those birds flying together,” you can say, “Look at that flock of birds!” Here, “flock” is a collective noun we use for a group of birds.
Collective nouns refer to a group of people, animals, or things as a single entity. For example, family, team, committee, and jury are collective nouns indicating a group of people.
Why are collective nouns important? Because they help us communicate clearly and concisely. Imagine you were looking at a beautiful countryside scene. Instead of saying, “There were many sheep, all walking and eating together on the field,” you can say, “There was a herd of sheep in the field.” Using the word "herd" helps us describe the same scene in fewer words. This shows how collective nouns, like “herd,” make our speaking and writing clearer and simpler. They help us share ideas quickly and easily.
Collective nouns for animals
Animals often live and move together in groups. In English, we have collective nouns to talk about these groups. Let’s learn some common collective nouns for animals.
School
/skuหl/ ๐
A group of fish or other sea creatures swimming together.
The school of fish darted around the coral reef.
Flock
/flษk/ ๐
A group of birds, goats or sheep.
The flock of birds soared gracefully in the sky.
Pod
/pษd/ ๐
A group of marine animals, especially whales or dolphins.
The pod of dolphins played alongside the boat.
Pride
/praษชd/ ๐
A group of lions.
The pride of lions rested under the shade of trees.
Swarm
/swษrm/ ๐
A large group of insects, especially flying ones.
A swarm of bees buzzed around the flowers.
Colony
/หkษl.ษ.ni/ ๐
A group of certain animals, especially ants or seabirds, that live together.
The colony of penguins huddled together for warmth.
Pack
/pæk/ ๐
A group of wild animals, especially wolves, living and hunting together.
The pack of wolves moved stealthily through the forest.
Herb
/hษrb/ ๐
A group of herbivorous animals, especially deer.
The herb of deer grazed peacefully in the meadow.
Litter
/หlษชt.ษr/ ๐
A group of young animals born together by the same mother.
The litter of cats played around the house.
Troop
/trup/ ๐
A group of monkeys.
The troop of monkeys chattered loudly in the trees.
Clowder
/หklaส.dษr/ ๐
A group of cats.
The clowder of cats lounged lazily in the sun.
Brood
/brud/ ๐
A group of young birds hatched at the same time.
The mother hen protected her brood from the elements.
Flight
/flaษชt/ ๐
A group of flying birds.
A flight of swallows circled the sky at dusk.
Parliament
/หpษหrlษmษnt/ ๐
A group of owls.
The parliament of owls watched intently from the treetops.
Collective nouns for people
People often come together in groups for work, play, or chat. We have collective nouns for these groups. Below is a list of collective nouns for people with their definitions and example use.
Audience
/'ษห.di.ษns/ ๐
A group of people watching or listening to something or someone.
The school play attracted a large audience from the local community.
Board
/bษrd/ ๐
A group of individuals that manage or control an organisation.
The board of directors will meet next week to address the matter.
Crew
/kru/ ๐
People working together, especially on a ship, aircraft, or film.
The crew worked tirelessly to navigate the ship through the storm.
Choir
/kwaษชษr/ ๐
A group of people who sing together.
Every Christmas, the choir performs carols at the mall.
Class
/klæs/ ๐
A group of students who are taught together.
The entire class was excited about the upcoming field trip.
Team
/tim/ ๐
People who play together in a sports game or work together on a particular project.
The football team practised daily to prepare for the big match.
Panel
/หpæn.ษl/ ๐
A group of experts or individuals gathered to discuss, judge, or advise on a particular subject or issue.
A panel of judges evaluated the designs in the fashion show.
Troop
/trup/ ๐
A group of scouts or soldiers.
The troop set up camp at the base of the mountain.
Orchestra
/หษหrkษชstrษ/ ๐
A group of musicians who play many different instruments together.
The orchestra played a beautiful symphony.
Cast
/kæst/ ๐
All the actors in a film, play, or show.
The cast received a standing ovation at the end of the performance.
Faculty
/หfæk.ษl.ti/ ๐
All the teachers or lecturers of a particular school, college, or university.
The faculty met to discuss the new curriculum.
Squad
/skwษd/ ๐
A small group of people trained to work together as a unit.
The police squad arrived at the scene promptly.
Chorus
/หkษหrษs/ ๐
A group of people singing together.
The chorus sang in harmony behind the lead singer.
Mob
/mษb/ ๐
A large crowd or group of people.
The mob of people protested loudly in front of the city hall.
Collective nouns for things
In English, there are also collective nouns to indicate groups of things. Instead of saying many paintings, we can say a gallery of paintings. Familiarise yourself with these collective nouns to make your English more elegant.
Bundle
/หbสn.dษl/ ๐
A collection of things wrapped up together.
She carried a bundle of sticks on her back.
Deck
/dษk/ ๐
A set of cards.
He shuffled the deck of cards before starting the game.
Set
/sษt/ ๐
A group of things that belong together, or resemble one another in some way.
He bought a new set of tools for his garage.
Stack
/stæk/ ๐
A pile of things arranged one on top of another.
There was a tall stack of books on his desk.
Bunch
/bสntส/ ๐
A number of things, typically of the same kind, fastened or packed together.
She picked a bunch of grapes from the vine.
Library
/หlaษช.brer.i/ ๐
A collection of books or musics.
His home library contained over a thousand books.
Pack
/pæk/ ๐
A collection of things wrapped or boxed together.
He opened a new pack of cards.
Batch
/bætส/ ๐
A quantity of goods produced at the same time.
She baked a fresh batch of cookies for the party.
Fleet
/fliหt/ ๐
A group of ships sailing together.
The fleet of ships set sail at dawn.
Line
/laษชn/ ๐
A row of people or things arranged next to each other.
Traffic was slow due to a long line of cars on the highway.
Sheaf
/สiหf/ ๐
A collection of things held or tied together after.
Farmers gathered sheaves of wheat in the field.
Ream
/riหm/ ๐
A packet of 500 sheets of paper.
She purchased a ream of paper for the printer.
Wad
/wษd/ ๐
A thick pile of flat material or banknotes.
He took out a thick wad of notes from his pocket.
Cluster
/หklสs.tษr/ ๐
A group of similar things that are close together, sometimes surrounding something.
Astronomers observed a bright cluster of stars in the night sky.
Share this content on social media
