hoarding

¹ American  

[hawr-ding] / ˈhɔr dɪŋ /

noun

1. the act of a person or animal that hoards.

   Depression-era hoarding, when gold coins disappeared from circulation;

   the hoarding of nuts by chipmunks.

2. hoardings, things that are hoarded.

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hoarding ² American  

[hawr-ding, hohr-] / ˈhɔr dɪŋ, ˈhoʊr- /

noun

1. a temporary fence enclosing a construction site.

2. British. a billboard.

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hoarding British  

/ ˈhɔːdɪŋ /

noun

1. Also called (esp US and Canadian): billboard.  a large board used for displaying advertising posters, as by a road

2. a temporary wooden fence erected round a building or demolition site

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Etymology

Origin of hoarding¹

First recorded in 1585–95; hoard + -ing ¹

Origin of hoarding²

First recorded in 1815–25; obsolete hoard (from Old French hourd(e) “palisade made of hurdles,” from Germanic; compare German Hürde “hurdle”) + -ing ¹

Example Sentences

Kenya's energy ministry on Wednesday denied that there was a shortage of fuel, accusing retailers of hoarding the commodity in anticipation of higher prices.

From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026

Authorities capped fuel purchases for several types of vehicles as panic buying and hoarding spread following warnings of possible supply disruptions.

From Barron's • Mar. 8, 2026

“There was a couple that was always there trying to clean up, looked like there was a lot of hoarding going on,” Llamas said.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

Columnist Nicole Nguyen helps you minimize your digital hoarding, from cloud cleanup to local drives.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 28, 2026

I've helped transform the apartment of a single, lazy, hoarding hermit into a family's living space.

From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Related Words

• accretion
• aggregation
• buildup
• growth
• inflation
• pile
• quantity