horde

[ hawrd, hohrd ]

noun

1. a large group, multitude, number, etc.; a mass or crowd:

   a horde of tourists.

   Synonyms: throng, herd, mob

2. a tribe or troop of Asian nomads.
3. any nomadic group.
4. a moving pack or swarm of animals:

   A horde of mosquitoes invaded the camp.

verb (used without object)

, hord·ed, hord·ing.

1. to gather in a horde:

   The prisoners horded together in the compound.

horde

/ hɔːd /

noun

1. a vast crowd; throng; mob
2. a local group of people in a nomadic society
3. a nomadic group of people, esp an Asiatic group
4. a large moving mass of animals, esp insects

verb

1. intr to form, move in, or live in a horde

Usage

Horde is sometimes wrongly written where hoard is meant: a hoard (not horde ) of gold coins

Word History and Origins

Origin of horde¹

First recorded in 1545–55; earlier also hord, horda, ultimately from Czech, Polish horda, from Ukrainian dialect gordá, Ukrainian ordá, Old Russian (originally in the phrase Zolotaya orda “the Golden Horde”), via Mongolian or directly from Turkic ordu, orda “royal residence or camp” (later, “any military encampment, army”); Urdu

Word History and Origins

Origin of horde¹

C16: from Polish horda, from Turkish ordū camp; compare Urdu

Example Sentences

But along with the cartoon funk is an all-too-real story of police brutality embodied by a horde of evil Pigs.

From The Daily Beast

Here is a title that, in its prologue, tasks players with fighting a horde of angels on top of a moving jet.

From The Daily Beast

Perhaps the threat of legal action has also played a role in curbing the horde of dyspeptic deviants.

From The Daily Beast

Mrs. Clooney has been followed around Athens during a three-day visit by a horde of paparazzi that number into the hundreds.

From The Daily Beast

At about 10 p.m., a horde of Hungarian police officers raided the bar, demanding that everybody show their identification.

From The Daily Beast

In China the patriarch of a nomad horde became emperor of a nation retaining ancestor worship as its chief religious system.

From Project Gutenberg

The failure of this horde did not in the least check the proceedings of Sharp or Lauderdale or their like-minded colleagues.

From Project Gutenberg

In 1810 a threatened attack from a marauding horde of Kafirs was averted in answer to prayer.

From Project Gutenberg

It was this inspiration that changed a strong German horde into a people that loved culture, art and education.

From Project Gutenberg

He led the Auvergners to the left of the battle, where the Seljouk horde seemed thinnest.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• crowd
• crush
• gang
• mob
• multitude
• swarm