Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: crudan 'to press close'

crowd

2 verb
     
crowd2
1 [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] if people crowd somewhere, they gather together in large numbers, filling a particular place
crowd into
Hundreds of people crowded into the church for the funeral.
crowd round/around
We all crowded round the table.
be crowded together
the rapid spread of infection in areas where people are crowded together
2 [transitive] if people or things crowd a place, there are a lot of them there:
Holiday-makers crowded the beaches.
Range after range of mountains crowd the horizon.
3 [transitive] if thoughts or ideas crowd your mind or memory, they fill it, not allowing you to think of anything else:
Strange thoughts and worries were crowding his mind.
4 [transitive]
a) to make someone angry by moving too close to them:
Stop crowding me - there's plenty of room.
b) especially American English to make someone angry or upset by making too many unfair demands on them

crowd in

phrasal verb
if problems or thoughts crowd in on you, you cannot stop thinking about them
crowd in on
She shut her mind against the fears that crowded in on her.

crowd somebody/something ↔ out

phrasal verb
to force someone or something out of a place or situation:
Supermarket chains have crowded out the smaller shops.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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