Phrase guide

flash mob

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

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

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

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

Across languages

Translations

29 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: تَجَمُّع مُفَاجِئ (tajammuʕ mufājiʔ) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Arabic: فْلَاش موب (flāš mōb) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Armenian: ֆլեշմոբ (flešmob) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Armenian: շանթամբոխ (šantʻambox) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Belarusian: флэшмо́б (flešmób) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Bulgarian: флашмоб (flašmob) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Chinese Mandarin: 快閃 /快闪 (kuàishǎn) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Czech: flash mob — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Dutch: flashmob — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Finnish: flash mob — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Finnish: äkkiryhmä — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • French: flash mob — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Georgian: ფლეშმობი (plešmobi) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • German: Flashmob — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Hebrew: פְלֶאש מוֹבּ — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Hindi: फ़्लैश मॉब (flaiś mŏb) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Japanese: フラッシュモブ (furasshumobu) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Korean: 플래시 몹 (peullaesi mop) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Latvian: zibakcija — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Latvian: flešmobs — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Macedonian: флеш моб (fleš mob) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Malay: aksi rasa kilas — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Māori: urumaranga — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Polish: flash mob — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Portuguese: flash mob — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Russian: флэшмо́б (flɛšmób) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Russian: флешмо́б (flɛšmób) — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Swedish: flash mob — group converging and dispersing quickly
  • Ukrainian: флешмо́б (flešmób) — group converging and dispersing quickly