hide

¹ American  

[hahyd] / haɪd /

verb (used with object)

hid, hidden, hid, hiding

1. to conceal from sight; prevent from being seen or discovered.

   Where did she hide her jewels?

   Synonyms:

   disguise, shroud, veil, cloak, mask, screen

   Antonyms:

   display, reveal

2. to obstruct the view of; cover up.

   The sun was hidden by the clouds.

3. to conceal from knowledge or exposure; keep secret.

   to hide one's feelings.

   Synonyms:

   suppress, dissemble, disguise

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verb (used without object)

hid, hidden, hid, hiding

1. to conceal oneself; lie concealed.

   He hid in the closet.

noun

1. British. a place of concealment for hunting or observing wildlife; hunting blind.

verb phrase

1. hide out to go into or remain in hiding.

   After breaking out of jail, he hid out in a deserted farmhouse.

hide ² American  

[hahyd] / haɪd /

noun

1. the pelt or skin of one of the larger animals (cow, horse, buffalo, etc.), raw or dressed.

2. Informal.

   1. the skin of a human being.

      Get out of here or I'll tan your hide!

   2. safety or welfare.

      He's only worried about his own hide.

3. Australia and New Zealand Informal. impertinence; impudence.

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verb (used with object)

hided, hiding

1. Informal. to administer a beating to; thrash.

2. to protect (a rope, as a boltrope of a sail) with a covering of leather.

idioms

1. hide nor hair, a trace or evidence, as of something missing: Also hide or hair.

   They didn't find hide nor hair of the murder weapon.

hide ³ American  

[hahyd] / haɪd /

noun

Old English Law.

1. a unit of land measurement varying from 60 to 120 acres (24 to 49 hectares) or more, depending upon local usage.

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hide ¹ British  

/ haɪd /

verb

1. to put or keep (oneself or an object) in a secret place; conceal (oneself or an object) from view or discovery

   to hide a pencil

   to hide from the police

2. (tr) to conceal or obscure

   the clouds hid the sun

3. (tr) to keep secret

4. (tr) to turn (one's head, eyes, etc) away

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noun

1. US and Canadian equivalent: blind.  a place of concealment, usually disguised to appear as part of the natural environment, used by hunters, birdwatchers, etc

hide ² British  

/ haɪd /

noun

1. the skin of an animal, esp the tough thick skin of a large mammal, either tanned or raw

2. informal the human skin

3. informal impudence

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verb

1. informal (tr) to flog

hide ³ British  

/ haɪd /

noun

1. an obsolete Brit unit of land measure, varying in magnitude from about 60 to 120 acres

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hide More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing hide

• cover one's ass (hide)
• tan one's hide

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Related Words

Hide, conceal, secrete mean to put out of sight or in a secret place. Hide is the general word: to hide one's money or purpose; A dog hides a bone. Conceal, somewhat more formal, is to cover from sight: A rock concealed them from view. Secrete means to put away carefully, in order to keep secret: The spy secreted the important papers.

See skin.

Other Word Forms

• hidability noun
• hidable adjective
• hideless adjective
• hider noun

Etymology

Origin of hide¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English hiden, Old English hȳdan; cognate with Old Frisian hūda; akin to Greek keúthein “to hide”; hide ² ( def. )

Origin of hide²

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hȳd; cognate with Dutch huid, Old Norse hūth, Danish, Swedish hud, Old High German hūt ( German Haut ); akin to Latin cutis “skin,” Greek kýtos “hollow, container”; cutis, hide ¹

Origin of hide³

First recorded before 900; Middle English hide, Old English hīd(e), hīg(i)d “portion of land, family,” from Germanic hīwidō; akin to Latin cīvis “citizen,” Greek keîsthai “to lie down, rest, remain, abide”

Explanation

You can hide your feelings or you can hide your mom’s birthday present. You can even hide yourself if you need to avoid someone. Whatever it is, when you hide something, you put it out of sight. Hide can mean that you keep something secret, like the way you really feel about your dad’s meatloaf. You can also hide something physical. If you spill juice on your white sofa, you can hide the stain with a pillow. Sometimes people hide also — that means the person stays out of sight. A bankrobber will hide from the police, or you might hide from your mom to avoid doing the dishes.

Example Sentences

While this simplifies experiments, it can hide important details, especially for antibodies that target regions near the base of the protein close to the membrane.

From Science Daily • Apr. 12, 2026

The game sorts players into two teams of five who can battle online, competing to hide their own flag and snatch the opposing team's banner.

From Barron's • Apr. 12, 2026

E-tabs descend from traditional paper pull-tabs, a game of chance where strips hide symbols.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Last month, postal workers from across the UK told the BBC they were being asked to move or hide mail from senior bosses so it looked like delivery targets were being met.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

She did her best to be kind to us, and tolerant, but she was used to living alone, and sometimes, I think, she found it difficult to hide her irritation with us.

From "An Elephant in the Garden" by Michael Morpurgo

Related Words

• bury
• camouflage
• cover
• disguise
• hole up
• mask
• obscure
• plant
• protect
• shelter
• shield
• smuggle
• stash
• suppress
• tuck away
• withhold