Group Terms or Collections
From: MacIver, Angus. The New First Aid in English (Glasgow: Robert Gibson, 1978)
(N.B. These are British English, there may be some vocabulary and spelling differences in American English)
Animate
| an army of soldiers | a litter of cubs |
| a band of musicians | a litter of pups |
| a bench of bishops | a nest of rabbits |
| a bench of magistrates | a pack of rascals |
| a bevy of ladies | a pack of wolves |
| a board of directors | a party of friends |
| a brood of chickens | a plague of insects |
| a building of rooks | a plague of locusts |
| a choir of singers | a school of whales |
| a class of scholars | a shoal of herring |
| a company of actors | a staff of servants |
| a covey of grouse | a staff of teachers |
| a crew of sailors | a swarm of bees |
| a drove of cattle | a swarm of insects |
| a flock of birds | a team of horses |
| a flock of sheep | a team of oxen |
| a gaggle of geese | a tribe of natives |
| a gang of labourers | a troop of lions |
| a gang of thieves | a troop of monkeys |
| a herd of buffaloes | a troupe of dancers |
| a herd of cattle | a troupe of minstrels |
| a horde of savages | a team of players |
| a host of angels | a stud of horses |
Inanimate
| a bale of cotton, wool | a forest of trees |
| a batch of bread | a hail of fire |
| a bouquet of flowers | a hedge of bushes |
| a bunch of grapes | a library of books |
| a bundle of rags | a pack of cards |
| a chest of drawers | a rope of pearls |
| a clump of trees | a set of china, clubs, tools |
| a cluster of diamonds, stars | a sheaf of corn |
| a clutch of eggs | a stack of hay |
| a collection of pictures | a string of beads |
| a crate of fruit | a suit of clothes |
| a fleet of motor cars, ships | a suite of furniture, rooms |
| a flight of aeroplanes, steps | a tuft of grass |
People
| at a dance | assembly |
| at a concert | audience |
| in church | congregation |
| in the street | crowd, throng |
| in a riot | mob |
| in a rowdy scene | rabble |
| at a football match | spectators |
Harder Examples
| a baren of mules | a pride of lions |
| a bevy of quails | a rag of colts |
| a cast of hawks | a siege of herons |
| a cete of badgers | a skulk of foxes |
| a clowder of cats | a sloth of bears |
| a covert of coots | a smuck of jellyfish |
| a down of hares | a stand of plovers |
| a fall of woodcocks | a string of horses |
| a field of runners | a tribe of goats |
| a flight of doves | a watch of nightingales |
| a flight of swallows | a wisp of snipe |
| a gang of elks | a budget of papers |
| a gathering of clans | a caste of flower-pots |
| a herd of antelopes | a crate of crockery |
| a herd of cranes | a fusilade of shots |
| a host of sparrows | a galaxy of stars |
| a kindle of kittens | a group of islands |
| a labour of moles | a bunch of bananas |
| a leap of leopards | a nest of machine-guns |
| a muster of peacocks | a peal of bells |
| a nest of mice | a punnet of strawberries |
| a nide of pheasants | a sheaf of arrows |
| a pace of asses | a shock of wheat |
| a paddling of ducks | a skein of silk |
| a posse of policemen | a skein of wool |
| a truss of hay | a coffle of slaves |