flash mob

See also: flashmob

English

Alternative forms

• flashmob

Etymology

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

Noun

flash mob (plural flash mobs)

1. A group of people who rapidly assemble, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act, and then quickly disperse. [from 2003]
   • 2003 August 4, Otto Pohl, “Berlin Journal; What: Mob Scene. Who: Strangers. Point: None.”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     Called into being on short notice by Web sites and e-mail distribution lists, flash mobs meet at an appointed time, engage in some organized spontaneity for a few minutes, then rapidly disperse. The activities are innocent, if mysterious, and tend to bring together loose groupings of surprisingly conventional looking young adults.

Derived terms

• flash mobber
• flash rob

Translations

group converging and dispersing quickly

• Armenian: ֆլեշմոբ (flešmob), շանթամբոխ (šantʻambox) (neologism)
• Belarusian: флэшмо́б m (flešmób)
• Bulgarian: флашмоб m (flašmob)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 快閃／快闪 (kuàishǎn)

• Czech: flash mob m
• Dutch: flashmob (nl) m or f
• Finnish: flash mob, äkkiryhmä
• French: flash mob (fr) m or f
• Georgian: ფლეშმობი (ka) (plešmobi)
• German: Flashmob (de) m
• Hebrew: פְלֶאש מוֹבּ m (flesh mob)
• Hindi: फ़्लैश मॉब (flaiś mŏb)
• Japanese: フラッシュモブ (furasshumobu)
• Korean: 플래시 몹 (peullaesi mop)
• Latvian: zibakcija (lv) f, flešmobs m
• Macedonian: флеш моб m (fleš mob)
• Malay: aksi rasa kilas
• Maori: urumaranga
• Polish: flash mob (pl) m
• Portuguese: flash mob (pt) m
• Russian: флэшмо́б (ru) m (flɛšmób), флешмо́б (ru) m (flɛšmób)
• Swedish: flash mob c
• Ukrainian: флешмо́б m (flešmób)