Crash
collective noun /kræʃ/ — What you call a group of rhinos — and you feel the weight of it immediately.
Definition
The collective noun for a group of rhinoceroses. Rhinos are largely solitary, but when several come together, crash captures the elemental force of their combined mass.
Beyond the definition
There is something deeply right about this word. A single rhino charging weighs up to 2,300 kg and reaches 50 km/h. A group of them moving together is not a herd — it is a crash in progress. The language knew what it was doing here.
Origin & history
Onomatopoeic in origin — the sound of something massive and unstoppable making contact. Applied to rhinos as a collective noun likely in the 20th century, reflecting their reputation as animals that do not go around obstacles.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
A crash of white rhinos moved through the thicket, flattening everything in their path.
The rangers tracked the crash across three game reserves for a week.
A crash of four descended on the waterhole at sunset, scattering everything else.
How to use it
Follow this entry’s examples for grammatical form and sentence placement.
Choose “Crash” when the meaning fits your context: The collective noun for a group of rhinoceroses. Rhinos are largely solitary, but when several come together, crash captures the elemental force of their combined mass.
Synonyms
group, herd, pack
Related words
Word in the Wild
Illustrative story: an imagined scene, not a documented event or interview.
The tracker heard them before she saw them — a sound like the landscape moving. By the time she'd found the clearing, the black rhinos were already there: seven of them, which was extraordinary, moving through the bush with the unhurried certainty of animals that have not been afraid for a very long time.
A crash of rhinos. The word does something the sight also does — suggests mass, momentum, the particular authority of something that has never needed to be careful.
She stood very still and watched until they moved on. The bush closed behind them. It happened in complete silence.
Questions about this word
What does "Crash" mean?
Crash is collective noun meaning: What you call a group of rhinos — and you feel the weight of it immediately.. The collective noun for a group of rhinoceroses. Rhinos are largely solitary, but when several come together, crash captures the elemental force of their combined mass.
Where does the word "Crash" come from?
Onomatopoeic in origin — the sound of something massive and unstoppable making contact. Applied to rhinos as a collective noun likely in the 20th century, reflecting their reputation as animals that do not go around obstacles.