congregation

plural congregations

1. countableuncountableThe act of congregating or collecting together.
2. countableuncountableA gathering of faithful in a temple, church, synagogue, mosque or other place of worship, especially those present at a devotional service or who regularly attend such services, particularly in contrast to the leadership, choir or others.

   In Hebrew, bonai shalom means “builders of peace,” and the congregation welcomes both Jews and non-Jews to participate in all aspects of the community.

   2025 June 4, Cindy Von Quednow, TuAnh Dam, “Their synagogue taught them to build peace. An antisemitic attack is testing their resilience”, in CNN, archived from the original on 22 Jul 2025

   1 more example

   The critically low level of rainfall in the second half of 2020 – approaching 50% year on year for November – led the religious affairs directorate to instruct imams and their congregations to pray for rain last month.

   2021 January 13, Bethan McKernan, “Turkey drought: Istanbul could run out of water in 45 days”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 27 Aug 2025

   Synonyms: flock, fold, flock, fold, laity

3. countableuncountableA Roman Congregation, a main department of the Vatican administration of the Catholic Church.
4. countableuncountableA corporate body whose members gather for worship, or the members of such a body.
5. countableuncountableAny large gathering of people.

   During the wedding ( usually held on a Saturday ) , you and your committee sit on " facing benches ” before the rest of the congregation ( your guests ) . Everyone worships silently until you two feel that it's time to say your vows .

   1998, Carley Roney, The Knot's Complete Guide to Weddings in the Real World: The Ultimate Source of Ideas, Advice, and Relief for the Bride and Groom and Those who Love Them, Broadway Books, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 94

6. countableuncountableA flock of birds.

   I was excited to ramp up our cave-diving efforts, and to see my first big congregation of penguins.

   2019, Jill Heinerth, Into the Planet, Doubleday Canada

   5 more examples

   Bald eagles gather in significant numbers along the middle Skagit during the winter to feed on migrating salmon. This congregation of eagles is reported to be the largest wintering group on the contiguous West Coast.

   1977, Classification of Portions of the Skagit River and Selected, United States. Forest Service. Pacific Northwest Region, page 12

   "Oh! I wasted most of my morning crawling to a murmuration of starlings, which I foolishly mistook for congregation of plover."

   1893 September 27, The Bazaar, the Exchange and Mart, London, page 800, column 3

   There was a congregation of pigeons inside the shack, he realized, pushing their beaks through the wooden lattice at the front.

   2008, Frances Hardinge, Gullstruck Island, Amulet Books

   Dr. C. Hart Merriam, in his 'Birds of Connecticut,' mentions a congregation of hawks as follows: "On the 25th of September, 1875, I saw near New Haven, a flock of twenty-six Red-tailed Hawks, soaring high and sailing slowly southward. The day was clear and cool, and there was little wind."

   1895, The Auk, volume 12, American Ornithologists' Union, page 262

   A small congregation of plover hove in sight, at first far off toward the bay, yet steadily drawing nearer.

   1813, Dr. Frank Linwood Bailey, “Yellowlegs and Nimble Jacks”, in Forest and Stream, volume 95, Forest and Stream Publishing Company

   Synonyms: flock

7. collectivecountablenoununcountableA group of alligators or crocodiles.

   This explained what had been a puzzle to the most knowing of the party-that wonderful congregation of crocodiles.

   1882 June 1, The Youth's Companion, volume 55

   3 more examples

   A congregation of crocodiles will communicate with body language and behavior and are also extremely territorial predators.

   2010, Ann Wertz Garvin, On Maggie's Watch, Penguin Publishing Group

   a large congregation of crocodiles lazing by the side of a swamp; with their thick, tough skin, coarse and lumpy and always coated in mud, they were the embodiment of hideousness, these creatures as old as time

   2024, Saneh Sangsuk, The Understory, Deep Vellum Publishing

   One of Bartram's most famous passages, and the one most often used to exemplify his gift for exaggeration, is his account of a congregation of alligators on the upper reaches of the St. Johns River in Florida during what seems to be a run of fish

   2020, Kent A. Vliet, Alligators: The Illustrated Guide to Their Biology, Behavior, and Conservation, Johns Hopkins University Press, page 33

   Synonyms: raft

8. UKcountableuncountableOxford UniversityThe main body of university staff, comprising academics, administrative staff, heads of colleges, etc.