Collective Nouns: Group Words for People, Animals and Things

Learn Common Collective Nouns: Group Words for People, Animals and Things in English with Videos and Pictures.

In linguistics, a collective noun is a word that refers to a collection of things taken as a whole.

List of Collective Nouns in English

• Herd – A group of herbivore animals
• Pack – A group of canine animals such as wolves or dogs; also used to describe playing cards and packages containing multiple objects
• Flock – A group of birds; also used to discuss small hooved animals such as sheep or goats
• Swarm – A group of insects
• Shoal – A group of fish
• Group – A very general term used to describe people, places, things, and animals
• Crowd – Usually used to describe a group of people
• Gang – Usually used to describe a group of criminals; also used to describe a group of workers, particularly sailors or dock workers
• Mob – Normally used to describe an angry or unruly group of people; also used to describe a group of kangaroos
• Staff – A group of people who work in the same place
• Crew – Usually used to denote a group of workers; also used to describe aircraft and ships personnel
• Choir – A large, organized group of singers
• Orchestra – A large, organized group of instrumentalists, led by a conductor
• Panel – A group of experts
• Board – A group of people, usually professionals, who take on an advisory role
• Troupe – A group of actors or acrobats; also used to describe a group of monkeys
• Bunch – Usually a group of smallish objects such as grapes, flowers, keys, or bananas
• Pile – An untidy collection of items such as rubbish
• Heap – A mounded collection of items; used interchangeably with “pile”
• Set – A tidy group of matched objects such as dishes; also used to describe rules or a social group of people
• Stack – A group of items neatly laid one on top of another; i.e., a stack of books
• Series – Used to discuss movies, books, or events that follow one after another, i.e. Star Trek or Harry Potter
• Shower – Usually used to describe rain, although it can be used to describe gifts or compliments
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