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herd
1[ hurd ]
noun
a herd of cattle;
a herd of sheep;
a herd of zebras.
- Sometimes Disparaging. a large group of people:
The star was mobbed by a herd of autograph seekers.
- any large quantity:
a herd of bicycles.
- the herd, the common people; the masses; the rabble:
He had no opinions of his own, but simply followed the herd.
verb (used without object)
- to unite or go in a herd; assemble or associate as a herd.
herd
2[ hurd ]
noun
- a person in charge of a herd (usually used in combination):
a cowherd;
a goatherd;
a shepherd.
herd
1/ hɜːd /
noun
- a man or boy who tends livestock; herdsman
- ( in combination )
swineherd
goatherd
verb
- to drive forwards in a large group
- to look after (livestock)
herd
2/ hɜːd /
noun
- a large group of mammals living and feeding together, esp a group of cattle, sheep, etc
- derogatory.a large group of people
- derogatory.the large mass of ordinary people
verb
- to collect or be collected into or as if into a herd
Grammar Note
Word History and Origins
Origin of herd1
Word History and Origins
Origin of herd1
Origin of herd2
Idioms and Phrases
- ride herd on, to have charge or control of; maintain discipline over:
He rode herd on 40 students in each class.
More idioms and phrases containing herd
see ride herd on .Synonym Study
Example Sentences
If enough people resist getting a vaccine, herd immunity could be difficult to reach.
It is a good example of an effective partnership between community leaders and the public to do what’s best for humans and deer herds.
One way the pandemic can end is via “herd immunity”—that is, when enough people are vaccinated, or infected, for the outbreak to recede on its own because there aren’t enough people left to infect.
That could delay herd immunity until the fall or later, scientists say.
The road to herd immunity from the coronavirus suddenly looks longer.
While his trombone skills are decent, he certainly draws a crowd—or rather, a herd.
Since measles is so contagious, even with herd immunity, it can find a weak link and spread.
They will learn that I am a herd-bound mouthpiece for the scientific status quo.
With Napolitano exiting unexpectedly, Obama must find someone else capable of riding herd over the massive, unruly agency.
The mahouts would have steered pairs of kookies so as to separate a grown elephant from the herd, squeezing in on either side.
Who can explain the sixth sense that warns a night-herder of a stampede a moment before the herd jumps off the bed-ground?
Why send her a picture of a slate-colored cow when a herd of Durhams pastures every day right under her eye?
As if to prove that he was a true prophet, the herd split against a rocky pinnacle, and on this we stranded.
The sentinels signaled at a sign of danger, and then the herd ran; and so their enemies learned to hunt by following the chase.
Whenever a herd reached a branching valley, a big bison led off a small herd.
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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.
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