Jesse Gaggle A group of krill is called a swarm. Unlike a lot of collective nouns on this site, “swarm” isn’t a stretch or a borrowed word applied for the sake of wordplay, it’s a plain, accurate description of what krill actually do. These small, shrimp-like crustaceans gather by the billions in some of the largest aggregations … Read more
What Does “A Risk of Lobsters” Mean? “Risk” is the standard collective noun for a group of lobsters, and it’s one of the odder entries on this site, mostly because there’s no solid, documented explanation for where it comes from. It doesn’t trace back to the old medieval hunting-term tradition the way many bird and … Read more
A group of lobsters is called a risk. It’s an unusual word to find attached to an animal, and that’s part of what makes it memorable. Lobsters aren’t naturally social, in fact, they’re famously the opposite, so “risk” isn’t describing some cooperative pod moving through the water together. It’s simply the term that’s stuck as … Read more
What Does “A Consortium of Crabs” Mean? “Consortium” is a less common alternate collective noun for a group of crabs. It’s a word normally reserved for a formal association of businesses or organizations working toward a shared goal, and its use here leans into the idea of an organized, cooperative gathering rather than a random … Read more
What Does “A Cast of Crabs” Mean? “Cast” is the most widely used collective noun for a group of crabs, and it borrows its imagery from the stage rather than the shore. A theatrical cast is a company of performers assembled together, and a cluster of crabs sideways-scuttling across a beach or tide pool has … Read more
A group of crabs is called a cast. Crabs are found scuttling along nearly every coastline on Earth, and while they’re not exactly famous for organized group behavior, the sight of several crabs sideways-walking across a beach or tide pool at once is common enough that it earned its own collective noun. Whether “cast” is … Read more
A group of elephants is appropriately known as a herd. What Does “A Herd of Elephants” Mean? “Herd” is the standard collective noun for elephants, and elephant herds are among the most extensively studied and best understood social structures in the animal kingdom. A typical herd is led by a matriarch, usually the oldest and … Read more