hide
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to conceal from sight; prevent from being seen or discovered.
Where did she hide her jewels?
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to obstruct the view of; cover up.
The sun was hidden by the clouds.
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to conceal from knowledge or exposure; keep secret.
to hide one's feelings.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb phrase
noun
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the pelt or skin of one of the larger animals (cow, horse, buffalo, etc.), raw or dressed.
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Informal.
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the skin of a human being.
Get out of here or I'll tan your hide!
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safety or welfare.
He's only worried about his own hide.
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Australia and New Zealand Informal. impertinence; impudence.
verb (used with object)
-
Informal. to administer a beating to; thrash.
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to protect (a rope, as a boltrope of a sail) with a covering of leather.
idioms
noun
verb
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to put or keep (oneself or an object) in a secret place; conceal (oneself or an object) from view or discovery
to hide a pencil
to hide from the police
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(tr) to conceal or obscure
the clouds hid the sun
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(tr) to keep secret
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(tr) to turn (one's head, eyes, etc) away
noun
noun
-
the skin of an animal, esp the tough thick skin of a large mammal, either tanned or raw
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informal the human skin
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informal impudence
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
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.
See skin.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hide1
First recorded before 900; Middle English hiden, Old English hȳdan; cognate with Old Frisian hūda; akin to Greek keúthein “to hide”; see also hide 2 ( def. )
Origin of hide2
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English hȳd; cognate with Dutch huid, Old Norse hūth, Danish, Swedish hud, Old High German hūt ( German Haut ); akin to Latin cutis “skin,” Greek kýtos “hollow, container”; see also cutis, hide 1
Origin of hide3
First recorded before 900; Middle English hide, Old English hīd(e), hīg(i)d “portion of land, family,” from Germanic hīwidō; akin to Latin cīvis “citizen,” Greek keîsthai “to lie down, rest, remain, abide”
Explanation
You can hide your feelings or you can hide your mom’s birthday present. You can even hide yourself if you need to avoid someone. Whatever it is, when you hide something, you put it out of sight. Hide can mean that you keep something secret, like the way you really feel about your dad’s meatloaf. You can also hide something physical. If you spill juice on your white sofa, you can hide the stain with a pillow. Sometimes people hide also — that means the person stays out of sight. A bankrobber will hide from the police, or you might hide from your mom to avoid doing the dishes.
Vocabulary lists containing hide
Easter Vocabulary
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"We Wear the Mask" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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"When Cultures Meet"
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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.
See Examples For:
"It's very common for people to hide things if they have a carer visiting their home, for example hiding their wedding photos or taking down a trans flag," he says.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
For termites that spend almost their entire lives hidden from view, those biological clues may ultimately make them much harder to hide.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 19, 2026
“It feels like they’re trying to hide behind the norms that have been created in vulnerability disclosure for this, which is a very different problem,” Cable said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
Sometimes he would hide snacks in his family’s couch cushions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
It has become difficult—if not impossible—to hide her illness.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
Someone had apparently used the secret key Roebuck hid near the workshop door.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
While the Nigerian navy has increased maritime security operations, the military and other security agencies have carried out operations against oil thieves, who often hid out in the area's dense mangrove forests.
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026
But in most of those earlier cases, presidents at least hid behind principle.
From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026
He scattered them, hid them, kept handwritten or typed versions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
For generations, American history books hid or downplayed the evils of slavery.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
It was like being spoken to by God, an impression aided by the fact that Ramsey, hidden in a small booth near the press box, was heard but never seen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2026
The sight of young men, their identities hidden by black balaclavas, tearing around on electric bikes or scooters is becoming a familiar one.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Using that technique, astronomers looked for planets hidden inside the dusty disks.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 17, 2026
The couple had a hidden landline phone on their kitchen wall.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
Such action could easily be hidden; elbows, knees, hips, and ankles were covered by long dresses.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
The moment the sound of raucous singing had hided around the corner, he slipped out of the gate and ran in the opposite direction.
From "The Golden Goblet" by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
The Sloath is proposed to have an illegant Stait Bed—and the Bever is to ware one of Perren's lite Warter Proof Hats—and the Balld Vulters baldness will be hided by a small Whig from Trewfits.
From The English Novel And the Principle of its Development by Sidney Lanier
I’ve never hided you for collaring that pistol of mine.
From Tom, Dick and Harry by Talbot Baines Reed
These people who have had it in keeping—" "I hided it.
From Reels and Spindles A Story of Mill Life by Frank T. (Frank Thayer) Merrill
Ve let it stay hided in der cave undil dis drouble is all over und den it vill be easy to get it avay from der island, yoost so quiet.
From The Man from Brodney's by George Barr McCutcheon
“My presence in Venezuela is not a challenge,” said Machado, who spent more than a year in hiding before she escaped.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026
To passersby, we could easily be mistaken for two teenagers hiding in the shadows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
"This was the most heartbreaking outcome for us, we were just hoping that he would be hiding somewhere obvious where someone could find him, that's what we kept telling ourselves the whole time."
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
In his plea, Max acknowledged bartering art for real estate and hiding income to buy real estate in Southampton, New York, the US Virgin Islands and upstate New York.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
I said, barely hiding the disgust in my voice.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
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.
