horde

[ hawrd, hohrd ]

/ hɔrd, hoʊrd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR horde ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a large group, multitude, number, etc.; a mass or crowd: a horde of tourists.

a tribe or troop of Asian nomads.

any nomadic group.

a moving pack or swarm of animals: A horde of mosquitoes invaded the camp.

verb (used without object), hord·ed, hord·ing.

to gather in a horde: The prisoners horded together in the compound.

Nearby words

horatian ode, horatio, horatio alger, horatius, horatius cocles, horde, hordein, hordeolum, hordern, horeb, horehound

Origin of horde

1545–55; earlier also hord, horda ≪ Czech, Polish horda < Ukrainian dialect gordá, Ukrainian ordá, Old Russian (orig. in Zolotaya orda the Golden Horde), via Mongolian or directly < Turkic ordu, orda royal residence or camp (later, any military encampment, army); cf. Urdu

SYNONYMS FOR horde

1 mob, herd, throng.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR horde ON THESAURUS.COM

Can be confused

hoard horde

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for horde

But along with the cartoon funk is an all-too-real story of police brutality embodied by a horde of evil Pigs.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical|Stereo Williams|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Here is a title that, in its prologue, tasks players with fighting a horde of angels on top of a moving jet.
Bayonetta Is Nintendo’s Graphic, Ass-Kicking Barbie|Alec Kubas-Meyer|October 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Perhaps the threat of legal action has also played a role in curbing the horde of dyspeptic deviants.
‘The Fappening’ Is Dead: From A-List Hacking Victims to D-Listers Accused of Leaking Nudes For PR|Marlow Stern|October 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Mrs. Clooney has been followed around Athens during a three-day visit by a horde of paparazzi that number into the hundreds.
Can Amal Clooney Save Greece’s Antiquities?|Nico Hines|October 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

At about 10 p.m., a horde of Hungarian police officers raided the bar, demanding that everybody show their identification.
American Racist Richard Spencer Gets to Play the Martyr in Hungary|James Kirchick|October 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The airship was all in darkness, for lights drew a horde of insects.
Tom Swift and his Electric Rifle|Victor Appleton
Eagerly he pictured his forthcoming reunion with his native horde—and with Yold, his father, chief of the horde.
World of the Drone|Robert Abernathy
Turning to see from whence they proceeded, Mont saw a horde of savages in pursuit.
The Wizard of the Sea|Roy Rockwood
Constantinople was again besieged, this time by a horde from the Russian wilderness under the chiefs Dir and Askold.
The Prince of India, Volume I|Lew. Wallace
It was that noise we heard in the night, and we were fully expecting a horde of these men of Kharili to pour upon our outpost.
Captured at Tripoli|Percy F. Westerman

British Dictionary definitions for horde

horde

/ (hɔːd) /

noun

a vast crowd; throng; mob

a local group of people in a nomadic society

a nomadic group of people, esp an Asiatic group

a large moving mass of animals, esp insects

verb

(intr) to form, move in, or live in a horde

Word Origin for horde

C16: from Polish horda, from Turkish ordū camp; compare Urdu

usage

Horde is sometimes wrongly written where hoard is meant: a hoard (not horde) of gold coins

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