hoard
Americannoun
-
hoards
plural
verb (used with object)
-
hoards,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hoarded,
past participle, past
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hoarding
present participle
verb (used without object)
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hoards,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hoarded,
past participle, past
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hoarding
present participle
noun
-
an accumulated store hidden away for future use
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a cache of ancient coins, treasure, etc
verb
Usage
What’s the difference between hoard and horde? Hoard is a verb meaning to accumulate things and closely guard them, often in a greedy or excessive way, as in Dragons are known for hoarding treasure. It can also be used as a noun to collectively refer to the things that have been accumulated, as in a hoard of treasure. Horde is a noun referring to a large group or mob of people, especially one considered in a negative way, as in I’d rather avoid the hordes of tourists. The word horde is also used in a more specific way to refer to a group of nomads. It is especially associated with the Mongol army of the 1200s (sometimes known as the Golden Horde). Horde can also be a verb, meaning to gather or move in a horde, but this use is much less common. Both words often relate to large groups, but a hoard is an accumulation of items, while a horde is a group of people (or animals). To remember which spelling to use, remember that nomadic hordes sometimes travel on horses. The word hoard, on the other hand, hoards the letter A all for itself. Here’s an example of hoard and horde used correctly in a sentence. Example: A horde of invaders sacked the city and looted the royal treasure hoard. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between hoard and horde.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hoardsimple
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hoardssimple
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have hoardedperfect
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has hoardedperfect
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am hoardingprogressive
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are hoardingprogressive
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is hoardingprogressive
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have been hoardingperfect progressive
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has been hoardingperfect progressive
Past
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hoardedsimple
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had hoardedperfect
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was hoardingprogressive
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were hoardingprogressive
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had been hoardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hoard
First recorded before 900; Middle English hord(e), Old English hord; cognate with Old Norse hodd, Old High German hort, Gothic huzd “treasure”; hide 1, hide 2
Explanation
To hoard is to save something (or lots of things) for future use. Squirrels hoard nuts for the winter. Old ladies tend to hoard canned food and used plastic bags. People have been using the word hoard for both "to hide" and "treasure" for centuries; as both a verb and as a noun. Some hoard valuables, such as money, jewelry, and family antiques. Others build up a hoard, or cache, of things that aren't worth money but are important to them — like comic books or match books.
Vocabulary lists containing hoard
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
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Beowulf
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "H"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Record hoard of Roman coins unearthed in Germany.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 2026
As Berkshire’s value passed a mere $1 trillion, its returns have looked pedestrian and it has built up the biggest cash hoard in history.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
He actually uses his reservations, but you can imagine people using agents to hoard tables, or the human user not realizing the agent booked a table and the restaurant being stuck with a no-show.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
Plenty of business scions have inherited a fortune and used it to make a slightly bigger hoard.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
I realized I was already the owner of nine blank postcards featuring photos of loons and lighthouses, but I had the urge to hoard.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
Since she’s afraid to venture outside, she hoards these memories to live vicariously.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026
It also started buying up hoards of mortgage-backed securities to drive down borrowing costs for American households.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 17, 2026
But not even Greenland’s valuable geographical position and hoards of critical minerals could compensate for damaging the trans-Atlantic alliance that remains fundamental to U.S. security.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
"We have our fair share of hoards in Norfolk, but this is so, so different - it is really, really special," he added.
From BBC ● Jan. 7, 2026
‘Keep your hoards and your secrets hidden in the Accursed Years! Speed only we ask. Let us pass, and then come! I summon you to the Stone of Erech!’
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
It is plausible that some of the details he hoarded about his associates could have been used to pressure or influence them, though there is no evidence that this occurred in Gates's case.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Unified has enough money hoarded in reserves to reach a desired agreement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
He once hoarded approximately 64,000 of them—the equivalent of spending about $6,400 on burrito bowls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026
Over years of high inflation and currency controls, Argentines traded their battered pesos for dollars, which they often hoarded at home, in cash.
From Barron's ● Jan. 2, 2026
My rainy-day money was hidden here, eight iron pennies I had hoarded for when my luck turned bad.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
"I do post some hoarding videos but I've never had anything go this viral," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
Price discovery is critical, else you get hoarding, shortages and bare shelves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
While you don’t have any control over point devaluation, you can protect yourself by spending your points and not hoarding them.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Yes, as these companies’ statements uniformly note, those chips are being taken up by the A.I. data center rush, with Google and OpenAI leading the way in hoarding these processors.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2026
He said, “What’re you, a squirrel, hoarding friendship?”
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
