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

---

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.

---

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.

---

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

---

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

---

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

---

hide More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing hide

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

---

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”

Example Sentences

Machado has been in Europe since last month, when she made a dangerous escape from the Caracas suburb where she had been living in hiding for a year.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We are working to get an idea of where they may be hiding or seeking food," Hauser said.

From BBC

“I don’t try to hide the ball,” Pustilnikov told The Times.

From Los Angeles Times

Scanning devices helped map potential archaeological features hidden underground.

From BBC

As the largest space telescope ever built, Webb observes the universe in infrared light, allowing it to see objects hidden from traditional visible-light telescopes.

From Science Daily

Related Words

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