Do You Know These Groups?

Nouns of Association (also sometimes called nouns of assemblage) are words that describe groups of similar objects. We use them all the time and you will recognize the vast majority of them, but there are also a large number that are not well known. An example you might know is “A litter of kittens” – litter is the noun of association. So, here are 20 that you probably didn’t know, to help spice up your sentences.


1. A clowder of cats

2. A parenthesis of cellists

3. A coalition of cheetahs

4. A shock of corn (with stalks included)

5. A brace of dogs (2 dogs)

6. A leap of leopards

7. A coterie of Orchids

8. A dray of squirrels

9. A midden of shells

10. A murder of crows

11. A thought of barons

12. A knot of toads

13. A parliament of owls

14. A covey of quail

15. A passel of piglets

16. A rascal of boys

17. A rafter of turkeys

18. A skein of geese (in flight)

19. A shrewdness of apes

20. A cete of badgers

21. A flush of plumbers

22. A Rand of Objectivists

23. A yap of chihuahuas

24. An ogle of office boys

25. A descent of relatives

Sources used for verification: Milwaukee Zoo, Oxford English Dictionary, Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)