| 释义 |
swarm
I. \ˈswȯ(ə)rm, -ȯ(ə)m\ noun
(-s)
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English swearm; akin to Old High German swaram swarm, Old Norse svarmr tumult; probably akin to Old Norse svarra to swarm, Middle Low German swirren to whir, buzz, Latin susurrus hum, murmur, Old Slavic svirati to whistle, Sanskrit svarati he sounds, resounds
1. : a great number of honeybees emigrating together from a hive in company with a queen to start a new colony elsewhere; also : a colony of honeybees settled in a hive
2.
a. : a great often overwhelming number usually in motion and especially migratory : a dense moving crowd or throng
< a swarm of butterflies >
< a swarm of meteorites >
< a swarm of local peasants crowded around our roped-off space — Christopher Rand >
specifically : a horde seeking a new home
< a swarm of barbarians erupted from the steppes >
b. archaic : a group of eels
c. : an aggregation of free-floating or free-swimming unicellular organisms — usually used of zoospores
d. : a considerable number of similar geologic features or phenomena occurring close together in space or time
< a swarm of dikes >
< an earthquake swarm >
e. : an aggregation of molecules (as those responsible for cybotactic effects) in a liquid — compare cybotaxis
II. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: Middle English swarmen, from swarm (I)
intransitive verb
1.
a. of bees : to collect together and depart from a hive in a body to form a new colony — compare afterswarm
b. : to escape in a swarm (as from a sporangium) usually with a typical vibrating movement : move about actively previous to or following such escape
2.
a. : to migrate, move, or assemble in a crowd : throng together : move in throngs
< rural population swarmed into the industrial towns — Roger Burlingame >
< customers swarmed before the … meat counters — Clyde Hostetter >
b. : to occur or exist in great numbers : be extremely numerous
< venomous species swarmed among the grass tussocks — C.L.Barrett >
c. : to hover about or move irresistibly in the manner of a bee in a swarm
< had taken place … with monseigneur swarming within a yard or two — Charles Dickens >
< the little boy … just swarming around me — William Faulkner >
d. : to cover or infuse an area
< the exhilaration swarming over my face — Allen Tate >
< this tropical jungle swarms over the slopes of a mountain — Lawrence & Sylvia Martin >
3. : to contain a vast number and especially moving throngs : be alive : teem
< the big blue station wagon … forced its way down the swarming boulevard — Barnaby Conrad >
— usually used with with
< gently rolling fields … swarming with wild Canada geese — American Guide Series: Maryland >
transitive verb
1. : to fill with a swarm : cause to teem
< myriads of small marine insects that swarmed the ocean — H.J.Wolfe >
< men will swarm the decks — T.O.Heggen >
2. : to induce (a colony of bees) to swarm
III. verb
(-ed/-ing/-s)
Etymology: origin unknown
intransitive verb
: to engage in climbing especially hand over hand : shin
< two little tads … having a good time swarming over the logs — Helen Eustis >
< swarm up a mast >
transitive verb
: to climb up : mount |