hoarding

¹ American  

[hawr-ding] / ˈhɔr dɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or animal that hoards.

   Depression-era hoarding, when gold coins disappeared from circulation;

   the hoarding of nuts by chipmunks.

2. hoardings, things that are hoarded.

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hoarding ² American  

[hawr-ding, hohr-] / ˈhɔr dɪŋ, ˈhoʊr- /

noun

1. a temporary fence enclosing a construction site.

2. British. a billboard.

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hoarding British  

/ ˈhɔːdɪŋ /

noun

1. Also called (esp US and Canadian): billboard.  a large board used for displaying advertising posters, as by a road

2. a temporary wooden fence erected round a building or demolition site

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Etymology

Origin of hoarding¹

First recorded in 1585–95; hoard + -ing ¹

Origin of hoarding¹

First recorded in 1815–25; obsolete hoard (from Old French hourd(e) “palisade made of hurdles,” from Germanic; compare German Hürde “hurdle”) + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

“There’s a little bit of hoarding mentality,” Piller laughed, “but I use it!”

From Los Angeles Times

Companies hoarding cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets have been hit hard in recent months and face a battle to recover in 2026.

From Barron's

Leadership is about controlling the platform on which others build, not hoarding end products.

From The Wall Street Journal

Global tensions are making the Chinese government nervous about disruptions to energy imports, so it is hoarding more oil as an insurance policy.

From The Wall Street Journal

At the same time, the collapse of the Soviet Union drastically lowered the price of titanium, an extraordinarily strong metal that the Soviets had been hoarding to build nuclear submarines.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• accretion
• aggregation
• buildup
• growth
• inflation
• pile
• quantity