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definitions

hiding

1
[hahy-ding]
||
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hiding ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

act of concealing; concealment: to remain in hiding.
a secret refuge or means of concealment.

Origin of hiding

1
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at hide1, -ing1

hiding

2
[hahy-ding]

noun Informal.

a severe beating; flogging; thrashing.

Origin of hiding

2
First recorded in 1800–10; hide2 + -ing1

hide

1
[hahyd]

verb (used with object), hid, hid·den or hid, hid·ing.

to conceal from sight; prevent from being seen or discovered: Where did she hide her jewels?
to obstruct the view of; cover up: The sun was hidden by the clouds.
to conceal from knowledge or exposure; keep secret: to hide one's feelings.

verb (used without object), hid, hid·den or hid, hid·ing.

to conceal oneself; lie concealed: He hid in the closet.

noun

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

Verb Phrases

hide out, to go into or remain in hiding: After breaking out of jail, he hid out in a deserted farmhouse.

Origin of hide

1
before 900; Middle English hiden, Old English hȳdan; cognate with Old Frisian hūda, Greek keúthein to conceal
Related formshid·a·ble, adjectivehid·a·bil·i·ty, nounhid·er, noun

Synonyms for hide

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hide ON THESAURUS.COM
1. screen, mask, cloak, veil, shroud, disguise. 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. 3. disguise, dissemble, suppress.

Antonyms for hide

1. reveal, display.

hide

2
[hahyd]

noun

the pelt or skin of one of the larger animals (cow, horse, buffalo, etc.), raw or dressed.
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.
Australia and New Zealand Informal. impertinence; impudence.

verb (used with object), hid·ed, hid·ing.

Informal. to administer a beating to; thrash.
to protect (a rope, as a boltrope of a sail) with a covering of leather.

Idioms

    hide nor hair, a trace or evidence, as of something missing: They didn't find hide nor hair of the murder weapon.Also hide or hair.

Origin of hide

2
before 900; Middle English; Old English hȳd; cognate with Dutch huid, Old Norse hūth, Danish, Swedish hud, Old High German hūt (German Haut), Latin cutis skin, cutis; see hide1
Related formshide·less, adjective

Synonyms for hide

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hide ON THESAURUS.COM
1. See skin.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hiding

covering, screening, masking, suppressing

Examples from the Web for hiding

Contemporary Examples of hiding

Historical Examples of hiding

  • It would be a stroke of luck if I could stumble on one of his hiding places!

    Brave and Bold

    Horatio Alger

  • The black bonnet had been like a mask, hiding Mart's beauty.

  • You won't be left in hiding after such a dbut; you'll electrify society!

  • He could smell Indians in hiding and wood smoke three leagues away.

    The Trail Book

    Mary Austin

  • By this they were opposite the old stand, where Shandy was hiding.

    Thoroughbreds

    W. A. Fraser

British Dictionary definitions for hiding

hiding

1

noun

the state of concealment (esp in the phrase in hiding)
hiding place a place of concealment

hiding

2

noun

informal a flogging; beating
be on a hiding to nothing to be bound to fail; to face impossible odds

hide

1

verb hides, hiding, hid (hɪd), hidden (ˈhɪdən) or hid

to put or keep (oneself or an object) in a secret place; conceal (oneself or an object) from view or discoveryto hide a pencil; to hide from the police
(tr) to conceal or obscurethe clouds hid the sun
(tr) to keep secret
(tr) to turn (one's head, eyes, etc) away

noun

British a place of concealment, usually disguised to appear as part of the natural environment, used by hunters, birdwatchers, etcUS and Canadian equivalent: blind
See also hideout
Derived Formshidable, adjectivehider, noun

Word Origin for hide

Old English hӯdan; related to Old Frisian hēda, Middle Low German hüden, Greek keuthein

hide

2

noun

the skin of an animal, esp the tough thick skin of a large mammal, either tanned or raw
informal the human skin
Australian and NZ informal impudence

verb hides, hiding or hided

(tr) informal to flog
Derived Formshideless, adjective

Word Origin for hide

Old English hӯd; related to Old Norse hūth, Old Frisian hēd, Old High German hūt, Latin cutis skin, Greek kutos; see cuticle

hide

3

noun

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

Word Origin for hide

Old English hīgid; related to hīw family, household, Latin cīvis citizen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for hiding
n.1

"concealment," early 13c., verbal noun from hide (v.1). Hiding place is from mid-15c.; an Old English word for this was hydels.

n.2

"a flogging," 1809, from hide (n.1), perhaps in reference to a whip or thong made of animal hide. Old English had hyde ðolian "to undergo a flogging," and hydgild "fine paid to save one's skin (from a punishment by flogging)." The English expression a hiding to nothing (by 1905) referred to a situation where there was disgrace in defeat and no honor in victory.

hide

v.1

Old English hydan "to hide, conceal; preserve; hide oneself; bury a corpse," from West Germanic *hudjan (cf. Middle Dutch, Middle Low German huden), from PIE *keudh- (cf. Greek keuthein "to hide, conceal"), from root *(s)keu- "to cover, conceal" (see hide (n.1)). Hide and seek (by 1670s), children's game, replaced earlier all hid (1580s).

hide

n.1

"skin of a large animal," Old English hyd "hide, skin," from Proto-Germanic *hudiz (cf. Old Norse huð, Old Frisian hed, Middle Dutch huut, Dutch huid, Old High German hut, German Haut "skin"), related to Old English verb hydan "to hide," the common notion being of "covering."

All of this is from PIE root *(s)keu- "to cover, conceal" (cf. Sanskrit kostha "enclosing wall," skunati "covers;" Armenian ciw "roof;" Latin cutis "skin," scutum "shield," ob-scurus "dark;" Greek kytos "a hollow, vessel," keutho "to cover, to hide," skynia "eyebrows;" Russian kishka "gut," literally "sheath;" Lithuanian kiautas "husk," kutis "stall;" Old Norse sky "cloud;" Old English sceo "cloud;" Middle High German hode "scrotum;" Old High German scura, German Scheuer "barn;" Welsh cuddio "to hide").

The alliterative pairing of hide and hair (often negative, hide nor hair) was in Middle English (early 15c.), but earlier and more common was hide ne hewe, literally "skin and complexion ('hue')" (c.1200).

hide

n.2

"measure of land" (obsolete), Old English hid "hide of land," earlier higid, from hiw- "family" (cf. hiwan "household," hiwo "a husband, master of a household"), from Proto-Germanic *hiwido-, from PIE *keiwo- (cf. Latin civis "citizen"), from root *kei- "to lie; bed, couch; beloved, dear" (see cemetery, and cf. city).

The notion was of "amount of land needed to feed one free family and dependents," usually 100 or 120 acres, but the amount could be as little as 60, depending on the quality of the land. Often also defined as "as much land as could be tilled by one plow in a year." Translated in Latin as familia.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with hiding

hide

In addition to the idioms beginning with hide

  • hide and seek
  • hide nor hair, neither
  • hide one's face
  • hide one's head in the sand
  • hide one's light under a bushel
  • hide out

also see:

  • cover one's ass (hide)
  • tan one's hide
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.