hoard
noun
a supply or accumulation that is hidden or carefully guarded for preservation, future use, etc..
had been hoarding
-
past perfect progressiveof hoard.past perfect progressive
Used to describe an action that was ongoing continuously in the past up until another past event interrupted it.
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.
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 ● Dec. 5, 2025
Before that deal, Buffett had been hoarding cash, a sign that he believed the market was overvalued.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 21, 2025
He repeats himself as if he had been hoarding the word for this moment on the eve of departure.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2023
With grain prices dropping, Abdulla said, the U.N. has seen that people who had been hoarding gran to sell at high prices are now putting it on the market in one or two countries.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 13, 2022
In proof of which he now presented these books, which had been purchased with money which he had been hoarding up for a long time.
From Library of the World's Best literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 12 by Various
