Pride
collective noun /praɪd/ — What you call a group of lions — named for the emotion their regal presence inspires.
Definition
The collective noun for a group of lions living and hunting together, typically consisting of related females, their cubs, and a small number of adult males.
Beyond the definition
Of all the collective nouns, pride might be the most fitting. Lions are the only truly social big cats — and the pride is the unit that makes them apex predators. There's something poetic about naming their group after the emotion their presence inspires.
Origin & history
From Old English prȳde — the state of holding oneself high. Applied to lions likely because of their regal bearing and the majestic impression they make.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
A pride of lions rested in the shade, conserving energy for the evening hunt.
The pride moved as one — an unhurried, terrifying unity.
She photographed the pride at dawn, when the light turned their manes to gold.
Synonyms
group, pack, troop, family
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Word in focus
A pride of lions
Three lions resting together in a pride.
Here, “pride” names the whole gathering. Notice the animals together rather than looking for one individual with that name. The photograph illustrates the group; it is not evidence that this particular scene inspired the expression.
Image credit: Benh LIEU SONG · CC BY-SA 3.0 (license)
Resized and converted to WebP; displayed with a fitted crop.