hidebound
Americanadjective
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narrow and rigid in opinion; inflexible.
a hidebound pedant.
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oriented toward or confined to the past; extremely conservative.
a hidebound philosopher.
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(of a horse, cow, etc.) having the back and ribs bound tightly by the hide.
adjective
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restricted by petty rules, a conservative attitude, etc
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(of cattle, etc) having the skin closely attached to the flesh as a result of poor feeding
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(of trees) having a very tight bark that impairs growth
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of hidebound
Explanation
Hidebound things — or people — are stuck in the past, unable to change. Your grandmother's hidebound ideas about fashion mean she never leaves the house without a hat and matching purse. Someone who's painfully old-fashioned, with chauvinistic, inflexible ideas and beliefs about the world can be described as hidebound. A hidebound culture can make a school, family, or workplace difficult and unpleasant for anyone who doesn't fit those narrow-minded standards. In the 16th century, the adjective originally described a condition of cattle, an unhealthy and emaciated state. Hidebound evolved from there, first describing painfully thin people, then those who are "narrow in outlook."
Vocabulary lists containing hidebound
Long Walk to Freedom
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On Liberty
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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.
John Nagl, who strongly felt that the Army’s top brass were too hidebound to the old ways of warfighting—large-scale tank-and-infantry battles—and were blocking the promotions of officers who were fighting counterinsurgency battles in the field.
From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026
Sanitary Commission was paid for by contributions from the public; it was also, at first, opposed by the hidebound Army Medical Department.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 23, 2026
In a post to Truth Social, Trump called on professional sports teams to be more hidebound.
From Salon • Jul. 20, 2025
The production, which was at the Park Avenue Armory earlier this season, has arrived at the St. James Theatre in the role of deus ex machina, rescuing Broadway from its hidebound habits.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 26, 2024
These hidebound trustees were determined to run the Research Corporation as conservatively as they ran their own businesses—that is, accumulating a large capital cushion before starting to give it away.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
