Collective nouns are some of the most interesting and colorful words in English. Instead of saying “a group of,” English often uses vivid expressions like a murder of crows or a swarm of bees to describe people, animals, and things in a more expressive way.
Collective Nouns in English
Collective Nouns for Animals
| Collective Noun | Animal Group |
|---|---|
| A pride | of lions |
| A murder | of crows |
| A school | of whales |
| A pod | of whales |
| A leap | of leopards |
| An army | of frogs |
| A gaggle | of geese |
| A sloth | of bears |
| An exaltation | of larks |
Common Collective Nouns for People
| Collective Noun | People Group |
|---|---|
| A staff | of employees |
| A crew | of sailors |
| A board | of directors |
| A choir | of singers |
| A band | of musicians |
| A class | of students |
| A crowd | of people |
| A regiment | of soldiers |
Essential Collective Nouns for Things
| Collective Noun | Things Group |
|---|---|
| A fleet | of ships / cars |
| A bouquet | of flowers |
| A range | of mountains |
| A galaxy | of stars |
| A forest | of trees |
| A library | of books |
| A quiver | of arrows |
| A block | of flats |
Singular or Plural?
Collective nouns can take either a singular or plural verb, depending on meaning.
- The team is winning. (acting as one unit)
- The team are arguing. (acting as individuals)
In American English, collective nouns are usually treated as singular. In British English, both singular and plural forms are common.
Last Updated on January 22, 2026
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A what of chicks,and a what of bells?
Bevies of chicks; ringings of bells
A tintinabulation of bells, surely.
It is a peal of bells
A peel of bells. I know you get a clutch of eggs but don’t know about once they’re hatched.
Once they have hatched they become a pile of egg shells. ;-}
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I would have thought that most people would wish to know what the collective noun is of some profession, animal et. Therefore, I think that an alphabetized list of thinks, crows, judges, cows accompanied by the collective noun would make use of this easier
eg
arrows quiver
flowers bouquet
After all we are generally searching for the collective noun (the unknown) of something (the known). Just a thought.
Nevertheless, this makes interesting reading. Thank you.
Nice
Nice
Really gloomy
It’s not bad but really simple. Can’t they give the advanced collective nouns?!!?
A cabinet of carpenters
What is the collective noun for eggs
a clutch of eggs
Clutch
The collective noun for a group of whales is a pod. Only fish congregate in schools. All cetacians travel and live in pods.
Also applies to cetaceans, https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/school
HARSHNI ????
There were a few mistakes and to many collective nouns for horses but overall its OK .
I really love this website
very good
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hi
hello lilly k if its really u
i watch ur videos
What is the collective noun for boots?
Pairs of boots
Do you have a search tool. I am looking for Latin and Greek roots.
llm
A bloat of hippopotamuses
Wonderful and so useful. Could you provide an alphabetic or searchable listing?
yes so right
What is the collective nouns for Roller cosater
A what of robbers , A what of lies and A what of houses can someone pls tell me ????
a band of robbers, pack of lies and a street of houses
a gang
Most of these are not collective nouns. Would you look at a pile of drawers and call it a chest?
no but probably a stack of them
Beautiful compilation of collective nouns…
Thank you
Apparently,
A dazzle of zebras
A dazzle of dragonflies
it helps me in class
Yea
Thank you, very helpful.
Its good…………..
i like to learn more collective nouns
The collective noun(s) for vultures is interesting. In the air overhead they are called a kettle, landed on the ground or in trees, they are a committee, and when feeding in a group they are a wake.
what is it for hens,
locusts,worshippers
A parliament of owls
A murder of crows
hello
yes, noticed a few mistakes but otherwise its all good, very helpful ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks so much this was very helpful and informative thanks for taking the time to make this page,
What of penguins
same but when my friends ask me about this i go nuts trying to answer it
it’s really hard to remember them all
Some of these are just not correct. A shower of rain. No, this is not right. A group of islands. A? I mean, I could let an archipelago go but even that is not a collective noun. A superfluidity of nuns, now that’s a collective noun!
Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment, your feedback is greatly appreciated!
“shower of rain” is an example of a collective noun. A collective noun refers to a group of people, animals, or things. In this case, “shower” refers to a group of raindrops falling from the sky.
A fuckwit of politicians
I’d love it if these lists were in alphabetical order by the nouns instead of the adjectives, so I could find the noun I want easier.
Same thing.
Alphabetical order would be useful
Very good
A bribe of politicians.
A gaggle of geese but a giggle of girls.
A greed of politicians…
A betrayal of politicians…
A faction of politicians…
A pomposity of professors.
An arrogance of media.
A giggle of girls.
An insolence of boys.
A conjecture of journalists.
A vanity of actors
A plunder of shoplifters.
A riot of protestors.
A conspiracy of civil engineers.
A cacophony of rock musicians.
YEs
is cool,but,what of a boy and God.?
Thanks for your thoughtful question!
Collective nouns are usually used for groups of animals or people, not for individual beings like a boy or divine figures like God.
For “a boy”, we don’t use a collective noun unless referring to a group—then we might say a group of boys or a gang of boys (depending on the context).
As for God, since it’s a singular and sacred figure, we don’t use collective nouns for God.
We appreciate your curiosity—thanks for learning with us! 😊
A forest of trees
it cool, u really helped me, thanks
This is very useful for me thank you so much
Can you said some more collective nouns everyday.
I’ve not heard of a ‘troop of kangaroos’. The term might be used but it’s not common. In Australia, it’s most commonly called a ‘mob of kangaroos’.
You’re absolutely right—”a mob of kangaroos” is the most commonly used term in Australia, and it’s the one most people recognize. While “a troop of kangaroos” can be found in some references, it’s far less common and not typically used by native Australians.
Good enough
What about elephant and pig?
Thanks for your question—really glad you’re exploring more!
For elephants, we often say a parade of elephants.
For pigs, you might hear a sounder of pigs or a herd of pigs, depending on the context.
Appreciate your curiosity—keep up the great learning!
What about elephant and pig?
Great question—thank you for asking!
For elephants, a common collective noun is a parade of elephants.
For pigs, you can say a herd of pigs, a sounder of pigs (especially wild pigs), or a drift of pigs (for younger ones).
Thanks so much for learning with us and keep the great questions coming!
Thanks for the resource really assisted the children.
this will be an awesome resource for my students to understand these nouns better… THANKS A LOT!!!!