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

“Books have been hard to come by lately. The humans are hoarding them. Or maybe they stopped using them, hard to tell. But I keep my eyes open.”

From Literature

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

Many migrant workers lack documentation needed for subsidised LPG and rely on informal markets, where hoarding has pushed up prices.

From Barron's

When O'Reilly broke the deadlock, he leapt high, punching the air flamboyantly before jumping on to an advertising hoarding with a flying kick.

From BBC

In Europe, Slovakia’s government on Wednesday allowed service stations to limit diesel sales, and set higher prices for cars with foreign plates as it clamps down on fuel tourism and hoarding.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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