Collective Nouns in English with Examples

In this reference, you will learn about the importance and usage of collective nouns in the English language. Collective nouns help in referring to a group of people, animals, objects, or ideas as a single entity, making communication more efficient. Examples like “team,” “flock,” and “group” will be highlighted to show how they create unity when describing collections.

You will find sections covering the definition and usage of collective nouns, along with lists of common examples. Whether you are speaking or writing, understanding how these nouns function within a sentence will enhance your language skills and make your communication clearer.

Collective Nouns

Collective Noun Definition

A collective noun is a special type of noun used to name a group of people, animals, things, or ideas. These words generally appear singular in form but represent multiple individuals or objects. For example, “team,” “flock,” and “bunch” are all collective nouns.

• Team: The team is playing well.
• Flock: The flock of birds flew away.
• Bunch: Sarah brought a bunch of flowers.

Usage of Collective Nouns in Sentences

When using collective nouns in sentences, keep subject-verb agreement in mind. Collective nouns often require singular verbs because they are regarded as single entities. In some cases, plural verbs might be needed, depending on the context.

Common Collective Nouns Examples

• What is a group of girls called? A bevy of girls or a giggle of girls
• What is a group of boys called? A blush of boys or a rascal of boys
• What is a group of cats called? A glaring of cats, a cluster of cats, or a clutter of cats
• What is a group of ferrets called? A business of ferrets or a cast of ferrets
• What is a group of giraffes called? A journey of giraffes, a herd of giraffes, or a tower of giraffes

Examples of Collective Nouns

Common Collective Nouns

Collective nouns are words used to describe a group of people, animals, or things. Here are some common examples:

• Team: a group of players, sportsmen, or workers
• Board: a group of directors or administrators
• Band: a group of musicians
• Pack: a group of animals, such as dogs or wolves
• Crowd: a large group of people
• Bunch: an informal term for a group of items or people
• Set: a collection of similar items
• Committee: a group of decision-makers
• Pair: two similar items or persons

Specific Collective Nouns

There are also very specific collective nouns for particular things:

• Range: a series of mountains
• Army: a large group of soldiers
• Family: a group of related individuals
• Staff: a group of employees or workers
• Crew: a group of people working together on a ship, aircraft, or train
• Choir: a group of singers
• Panel: a group of experts or judges
• Troupe: a group of performers, such as actors or dancers

Some additional unique examples:

• Ravens: an unkindness of ravens
• Lions: a pride of lions
• Dogs: a pack of dogs; a kennel of dogs (when domesticated)
• Cows: a herd of cows; a kine of cows (when in a group of 12 or more)

Other interesting examples include:

• Fleet: a group of ships or vessels
• Forest: a dense collection of trees
• Unit: an organized group of people with a common goal or purpose, such as a military unit
• Jury: a group of people selected to render a verdict in a trial
• Audience: a group of spectators or listeners
• Shoal: a group of fish
• Heap: a pile of items or objects
• Stack: an orderly arrangement of objects, one on top of another
• Shower: a brief, heavy fall of a substance, such as rain or meteors
• Fall: a large number of items or people moving, such as leaves falling from trees
• Galaxy: a vast group of stars
• Wad: a thick bundle or mass of soft material, such as paper or cloth
• Organization: a group of people working together for a common purpose, often formal in structure

Collective Nouns List

Herd

• A herd of antelope
• A herd of boar
• A herd of buffaloes
• A herd of caribou
• A herd of cattle
• A herd of chamois
• A herd of chinchillas
• A herd of cows
• A herd of cranes
• A herd of deer
• A herd of donkeys
• A herd of elephants
• A herd of elk
• A herd of fairies
• A herd of giraffes
• A herd of gnus
• A herd of goats
• A herd of horses
• A herd of llamas
• A herd of moose
• A herd of oxen
• A herd of pigs
• A herd of ponies
• A herd of sea horses
• A herd of seals
• A herd of swans
• A herd of swine
• A herd of walruses
• A herd of whales
• A herd of wolves
• A herd of wrens
• A herd of yaks
• A herd of zebras

Pack

• A pack of bears (polar bears)
• A pack of coyotes
• A pack of dogs
• A pack of grouse
• A pack of gulls
• A pack of hounds
• A pack of mongooses
• A pack of mules
• A pack of rats
• A pack of sharks
• A pack of stoats
• A pack of weasels
• A pack of wolves

Flock

• A flock of birds
• A flock of bustards
• A flock of camels
• A flock of chickens
• A flock of ducks
• A flock of geese
• A flock of goats
• A flock of parrots
• A flock of pigeons
• A flock of seagulls
• A flock of sheep
• A flock of swifts
• A flock of tourists
• A flock of turkeys

Swarm

• A swarm of ants
• A swarm of bees
• A swarm of butterflies
• A swarm of eels
• A swarm of flies
• A swarm of gnats
• A swarm of insects
• A swarm of rats

Shoal

• A shoal of bass
• A shoal of fish
• A shoal of herrings
• A shoal of pilchards
• A shoal of salmon

Group

• A group of guinea pigs
• A group of islands
• A group of people
• A group of dancers
• A group of engineers

Crowd

• A crowd of onlookers
• A crowd of people

Gang

• A gang of hoodlums
• A gang of laborers
• A gang of slaves
• A gang of thieves
• A gang of criminals
• A gang of crooks
• A gang of hoodlums
• A gang of prisoners

Mob

• A mob of emus
• A mob of kangaroos
• A mob of meerkats
• A mob of thieves
• A mob of sheep
• A mob of kangaroos
• A mob of rioters

Staff

• A staff of employees
• A staff of servants

Crew

• A crew of sailors

Choir

• A choir of angels

Orchestra

• An orchestra of musicians

Panel

• A panel of experts

Board

• A board of directors
• A board of trustees
• A board of chess players

Troupe

• A troupe of monkeys
• A troupe of shrimp
• A troupe of dancers
• A troupe of minstrels
• A troupe of performers

Bunch

• A bunch of seals
• A bunch of pigeons

Pile

Heap

Set

• A set of bowls
• A set of utensils

Stack

Series

• A series of events
• A series of photos

Shower

• A shower of bastards

Fall

• A fall of lambs
• A fall of woodcock

List of Collective Nouns for Animals, People and Things

Collective Nouns List for People

• A circle of friends
• A class of pupils
• A horde of savages
• A host of angels
• A house of senators
• A joint of osteopaths
• A lie/An equivocation of politicians
• A line of kings/rulers
• A melody of harpists
• A mess/An execution of officers
• A meter of percussionists
• A mob of rioters
• A morbidity of majors
• A mug/A reflection of narcissists
• A multiply/An unhappiness of husbands
• A mutter of mothers-in-law
• A wisdom of grandparents
• A number/A set of mathematicians
• A pack of Brownies
• A pack of thieves
• A pan of reviewers
• A panel of experts
• A party of friends
• A patrol of policemen
• A peck of Frenchmen
• A picket of strikers
• A pint of Irishmen
• A pity/A gang of prisoners
• A plush/A rascal of boys
• A pomposity of professors
• A posse of police
• A posse of sheriffs
• A pound of Englishmen
• A promise of barmen
• A prudence of vicars
• A quiz of teachers
• A rage of maidens
• A rash of dermatologists
• A regiment of soldiers
• A rookery/A school of clerks
• A rout of schoolboys
• A sample of salesmen
• A school of clerks
• A scolding of seamstresses
• A scoop/A slant of journalists
• A sentence of judges
• A series of radiologists
• A set/A subtlety of designers
• A set/A swish of hairdressers
• A shower of bastards
• A shower of meteorologists
• A shrivel of critics
• A shuffle of bureaucrats
• A side of dancers
• A simplicity of subalterns
• A poverty of pipers
• A slate of candidates
• A slither of gossip columnists
• A slouch of models
• A sneer of butlers
• A sprig of vegetarians
• A squad of beaters
• A squad of soldiers
• A squat of daubers
• A squeal of nieces
• A staff of employees
• A staff of servants
• A staff of teachers
• A stalk of foresters
• A subtlety of sergeants at law
• A superfluity of nuns
• A tabernacle of bakers
• A talent of gamblers
• A tantrum of decorators
• A team of athletes
• A team of players
• A thought of barons
• A tribe of Indians
• A tribe of natives
• A trip of hippies
• A troop of boy scouts
• A troupe of acrobats
• A troupe of artistes
• A troupe of dancers
• A troupe of performers
• A wandering of tinkers
• A wheeze of joggers
• A worship of writers
• An absence/An order of waiters
• An alley/A pratfall of clowns
• A brace/A wince of dentists
• An amalgamation of metallurgists
• An amble of walkers
• An ambush of widows
• An army of soldiers
• A roll of drummers
• An attitude/A grunt of teenagers
• An audience of listeners
• An eloquence of lawyers
• An embarrassment /A persistence of parents
• An entrance of actresses
• An expectation of heirs
• An expectation of midwives
• An obscurity/A rhyme of poets
• An illusion of magicians
• An impatience of wives
• An imposition of in-laws
• An obeisance of servants
• An observance of hermits
• An obstruction of dons

Collective Nouns List for Animals

In English, a collective noun for animals refers to a collection or a group of animals taken as a whole.

List of Collective Nouns for Birds

• A cloud of seafowls
• A colony/A flock/A raft of auks
• A colony of avocets
• A colony of gulls
• A colony of ibises
• A colony/A parcel/A rookery of penguins
• A covey/A brace/A brood/A flight/A pack of grouse
• A covey/A bevy/A clutch/A warren of partridges
• A covey of ptarmigans
• A crowd of redwings
• A descent of woodpeckers
• A desert/A deceit of lapwings
• A fall/A covey/A flight/A plump of woodcocks
• A flight of birds
• A flight/A gulp of cormorants
• A flight of goshawks
• A flight/A flock/A kit/A passel of pigeons
• A flight/A gulp of swallows
• A fling of dunlins
• A fling of sandpipers
• A flock of birds
• A flock of bustards
• A flock of swifts
• A flock of turkeys
• A flush of ducks
• A head/A herd of curlews
• A herd/A flock of wrens
• A hill of ruffs
• A host/A quarrel/A tribe/A ubiquity of sparrows
• A murder/A hover/A muster/A parcel of crows
• A chattering/A cloud/A congregation/A clutter of starlings
• A muse of capons
• A muster/An ostentation/A pride of peacocks
• A mustering/A flight/A phalanx of storks
• A mutation of thrushes
• A bouquet/A head/A warren of pheasants
• A parcel of linnets
• A parliament/A stare of owls
• A pitying of turtledoves
• A plump of moorhens
• A plump/A bunch/A knob/A raft of waterfowls
• A pod/A scoop of pelicans
• A prattle of parrots
• A pride/A flock of ostriches
• A rafter of turkeys
• A run of poultry
• A sedge/A siege of bitterns
• A sedge/A herd/A sedge/A siege of cranes
• A sedge/A flight/A hedge/A rookery/A siege of herons
• A flush/A puddling of mallards
• A spring/A bunch/A coil/A knob/A raft of teals
• A squabble of seagulls
• A stand of flamingos
• A trip of dotterels
• A trip/A bunch/A knob/A lute/A skein of wildfowls
• A wake of buzzards
• A walk/A wisp of snipes

List of Collective Nouns for Mammals

• A glaring/A cluster/A clutter of cats
• A cluster/A herd/A tribe of antelopes
• A coalition of cheetahs
• A cohort/A herd/A zeal of zebras
• A colony/A family/A lodge of beavers
• A colony of chinchillas
• A colony/A horde/A mischief/A swarm of rats
• A colony of voles
• A congress/A flange/A troop of baboons
• A coterie/A town of prairie dogs
• A couple of impalas
• A cowardice of curs
• A crash/A herd/A stubbornness of rhinoceroses
• A destruction of (wild) cats
• A destruction of wildcats
• A drift/A trip of (tame) swine
• A dray/A colony of squirrels
• A drift/A drove/A parcel of hogs
• A drove of bullocks
• A drove/A drift/A flock/A herd of pigs
• A drove/A herd of swine
• A fall of lambs
• A family/A bevy/A raft/A romp of otters

List of Collective Nouns for Sea Animals

• A glide of flying fish
• A glint/A troubling of goldfish
• A grind of blackfish
• A herd of seahorses
• A pack of perch
• A party of rainbow fish
• A quantity of smelts
• A school of butterfly fish
• A school of cod
• A shiver/A school/A shoal of sharks
• A shoal/A catch/A draught/A fray/A haul/A run/A school of fish
• A shoal of mackerel
• A shoal/A steam/A stream/A swarm of minnows
• A shoal/A school of pilchards
• A shoal of roach
• A shoal of shads
• A shoal/A spread of sticklebacks
• A squad of squid
• A swarm of dragonet fish
• A swarm of eels
• A troop of dogfish
• A troupe of shrimp

List of Collective Nouns for Insects

• A colony/An army/A bike/A swarm of ants
• A swarm/A bike/A cast/A cluster/A drift/A game/A hive/A stand/A rabble/A grist of bees
• A bike of (wild) bees
• A flight/A rabble/A swarm of butterflies
• An army of caterpillars
• An intrusion of cockroaches
• A swarm/A cloud/A business/A grist/A hatch of flies
• A cloud/A cluster/A swarm of grasshoppers
• A bike/A nest/A swarm of hornets
• A flight/A horde/A plague/A rabble/A swarm of insects
• A flock/A colony/An infestation of lice
• A plague/A cloud/A swarm of locusts
• A scourge/A swarm of mosquitoes
• A clutter/A cluster of spiders

Collective Nouns List for Things

• A piece of jewelery
• A pile of money
• A drop of rain
• A ray of sunshine
• A pinch of salt
• A bar of soap
• A tube of toothpaste
• A ball of wool
• A bar of soap
• A battery of tests
• A bolt of lightning
• A bunch of books
• A bunch of keys
• A bunch of keys
• A chest of drawers
• A clump of reeds
• A deck of cards
• A fleet of ships
• A fleet of vehicles
• A flight of stairs
• A gallon of gasoline
• A group of friends
• A group of islands
• A grove of trees
• A hedge of bushes
• A library of books
• A pack of cards
• A pair of shoes
• A piece of furniture
• A piece of paper
• A quiver of arrows
• A ream of paper
• A roll of film/cloth
• A series of events
• A set of books
• A set of tools
• A shelf of books
• A stack of chairs
• A suite of furniture
• A suite of rooms

Collective Nouns List for Food and Drinks

• A bar/A square of chocolate
• A batch of cakes
• A bottle of milk
• A bowl of rice
• A box of cereal
• A can of soda
• A carton of milk
• A cup of tea
• A glass of water
• A jar of honey
• A jug of water
• A kilo of meat
• A kilo of sugar
• A loaf of bread
• A packet of tea
• A piece of cheese
• A piece of chocolate
• A pile of cookies
• A slice of bread
• A slice of pizza
• A tub of margarine

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