An Attractive Set of Collective Nouns Explained With Examples

A collective noun is used to name a group of persons, animals, or things. Penlighten provides a few examples of collective nouns along with a list of the most commonly used ones.

Did You Know?

While a group of girls is called a giggle, that of boys is called a blush.

A noun is a part of speech, which is used to name a person, place, or a thing. Nouns are mainly divided into proper nouns and common nouns. A proper noun is used for a particular person, place, or a thing (e.g. John), whereas a common noun is a common name given to every person or thing of the same class (e.g. boy).

A collective noun is a type of common noun which is used to name a group of persons or things. Since they refer to a group of nouns as a unit, they are considered to be a subset of countable nouns.

A few collective nouns, for example: group or bunch, are very commonly used in everyday speech. Say, bunch can be used for keys, flowers, and bananas. Given below is a list of subjects along with their most commonly used collective nouns.

Examples of Collective Nouns in Sentences

» The audience loved his performance.
» The army is ready to attack.
» She gave him a bunch of bananas.
» The winning team was celebrating.
» The gang was planning to rob the bank.
» We were going through my childhood album.
» The herd is grazing.
» Anne went to the nearest library.
» John was the only boy in the class.
» The forest was very dense.

COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR PEOPLE

COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR ANIMALS AND BIRDS

COLLECTIVE NOUNS FOR THINGS

The list of collective nouns is endless, and the above article lists just a few of them. Make sure to add new ones to your list as you come across them.