hidden
Americanadjective
verb
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hidden
First recorded in 1540–50, for the adjective
Explanation
Hidden things can't be seen — they're concealed in some way. A hidden video camera inside a teddy bear might secretly be keeping an eye on a new babysitter. People with hidden feelings don't let their sadness, anger, and joy show; and hidden clues in a treasure hunt can't be easily found. Hidden things can be obscured deliberately (like hidden eggs at an Easter egg hunt), or simply out of view or undetected by you. Hidden is the past participle of hide, from the Old English hydan, which means "to hide or conceal," but also "to bury a corpse."
Vocabulary lists containing hidden
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
AI-based language analysis may help researchers uncover patterns that would otherwise remain hidden.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 27, 2026
Here is the hidden way to trade it.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
But will she choose Mr. Ryder, the libertine with a hangup about marriage, or Mr. Hayward, the tortured empath who recites poetry to her in a hidden garden?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
But on a remaining wall, members discovered a hidden treasure.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
He began to remember all the other things he had hidden in other places.
From "All About Sam" by Lois Lowry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
