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crowd in on

B2 neutral inseparable transitive
In simple words

When people or feelings press in on you from all sides and make you feel trapped or overwhelmed.

Literal meaning: A crowd pressing in toward a person from all sides.

Meanings

1 B2 neutral

Of people: to press in around someone from all sides, making them feel trapped or uncomfortable.

"The journalists crowded in on the celebrity as she left the courtroom."

Grammar: inseparable
2 B2 idiomatic neutral

Of thoughts, problems, or fears: to press upon someone in an overwhelming way.

"Late at night, his anxieties would crowd in on him and make sleep impossible."

Grammar: inseparable
Usage notes

Often used figuratively to describe thoughts, problems, or anxieties that feel overwhelming. The physical sense is less common than the figurative one.

Commonly used with

thoughts fears problems memories worries people

Forms

Base
crowd in on
I/you/we/they
3rd person
crowds in on
he/she/it
Past simple
crowded in on
yesterday
Past participle
crowded in on
have + pp
-ing form
crowding in on
continuous

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Synonyms

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