Etymology

flash mob

Today it means: A group of people who rapidly assemble, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act, and then quickly disperse. Full definition →

First used 2003
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The story

Perhaps from flash crowd, a term coined by Larry Niven in Flash Crowd (1973), a story about cheap teleportation in the future.

First known use, by meaning

  • from 2003 A group of people who rapidly assemble, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act, and then quickly disperse.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.