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”; see also 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”; see also 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

“It’s a little hard to hide from them in general,” Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global X ETFs, told MarketWatch of Big Tech stocks.

From MarketWatch • May 18, 2026

Crestfallen goalscorer Valentin Castellanos buried his face in his shirt, but West Ham players had nowhere to hide as a furious away end turned at St James' Park.

From BBC • May 17, 2026

It offers a fluffy kind of camouflage when you want to hide from the world’s troubles.

From Salon • May 17, 2026

"This notion of restoring truth and sanity is punitive. It's unnecessary. It's un-American, because great countries do not hide from their history. We learn from it," Spears said.

From Barron's • May 17, 2026

I jump back and hide against the wall of her backyard shed, while my heart bounces around like a herd of thundering elephants.

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

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