Generaly the difference is an audience is a group of people watching something, while a crowd is just a group of pepole in general. Audience could be plural, for example if a show was on two nights in a row, they would have two different audiences. Same idea with crowds. Hope that helps if you want more of an explanation please ask.

You can have a crowd and not necessarily have them be an audience, but an audience is usually also a crowd (although not always, as an audience can be just 1-2 people, which is not a crowd). Basically, a crowd is just a large group of people. An audience are people who are watching a performance.

The way I've always understood it, a crowd is simply a large group (of people). That's it. An audience is a crowd of people brought together to watch, listen, or just experience something together, usually something performed.

Try reference: http://www.nciku.com/search/all/audience Summary: An audience is usually watching something. A crowd is simply a gathering of three or more. "Three's a crowd." That may or may not be present for a specific purpose, unlike an audience. Crowd: 人群 街头巷尾，到处都是欢乐的人群。 Audience: 听众 听众鼓掌达两分钟之久。 The audience applauded for two whole minutes. 听众点播的节目 a programme by request; (listeners') request 听众点播的爵士乐 jazz for the asking 引起听众哄堂大笑 make the audience roar with laughter 他向听众扫了一眼。 He swept his eyes over the audience. 她的歌声征服了北京听众。 Her singing took Beijing by storm. 她第一次在音乐厅登台演出就把听

Hi... Definition of "audience" * a gathering of spectators or listeners at a (usually public) performance; "the audience applauded"; "someone in the audience began to cough" * the part of the general public interested in a source of information or entertainment; "every artist needs an audience"; "the broadcast reached an audience of millions" * hearing: an opportunity to state your case and be heard; "they condemned him without a hearing"; "he saw that he had lost his audience" * consultation: a conference (usually with someone important); "he had a consultation with the judge"; "he requested an audience with the king" Definition of "crowd" 1. A large number of persons gathered together; a throng. 2. The common people; the populace. 3. A group of people united by a common characteristic, as age, interest, or vocation: the over-30 crowd. 4. A group of people attending a public function; an audience: The play drew a small but appreciative crowd. 5. A large number of things positioned or considered together.