hoard
Americannoun
-
hoards
plural
verb (used with object)
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hoards,
present (3rd person singular)
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hoarded,
past participle, past
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hoarding
present participle
verb (used without object)
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hoards,
present (3rd person singular)
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hoarded,
past participle, past
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hoarding
present participle
noun
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an accumulated store hidden away for future use
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a cache of ancient coins, treasure, etc
verb
Usage
What’s the difference between hoard and horde? Hoard is a verb meaning to accumulate things and closely guard them, often in a greedy or excessive way, as in Dragons are known for hoarding treasure. It can also be used as a noun to collectively refer to the things that have been accumulated, as in a hoard of treasure. Horde is a noun referring to a large group or mob of people, especially one considered in a negative way, as in I’d rather avoid the hordes of tourists. The word horde is also used in a more specific way to refer to a group of nomads. It is especially associated with the Mongol army of the 1200s (sometimes known as the Golden Horde). Horde can also be a verb, meaning to gather or move in a horde, but this use is much less common. Both words often relate to large groups, but a hoard is an accumulation of items, while a horde is a group of people (or animals). To remember which spelling to use, remember that nomadic hordes sometimes travel on horses. The word hoard, on the other hand, hoards the letter A all for itself. Here’s an example of hoard and horde used correctly in a sentence. Example: A horde of invaders sacked the city and looted the royal treasure hoard. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between hoard and horde.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hoardsimple
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hoardssimple
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have hoardedperfect
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has hoardedperfect
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am hoardingprogressive
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are hoardingprogressive
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is hoardingprogressive
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have been hoardingperfect progressive
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has been hoardingperfect progressive
Past
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hoardedsimple
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had hoardedperfect
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was hoardingprogressive
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were hoardingprogressive
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had been hoardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hoard
First recorded before 900; Middle English hord(e), Old English hord; cognate with Old Norse hodd, Old High German hort, Gothic huzd “treasure”; hide 1, hide 2
Explanation
To hoard is to save something (or lots of things) for future use. Squirrels hoard nuts for the winter. Old ladies tend to hoard canned food and used plastic bags. People have been using the word hoard for both "to hide" and "treasure" for centuries; as both a verb and as a noun. Some hoard valuables, such as money, jewelry, and family antiques. Others build up a hoard, or cache, of things that aren't worth money but are important to them — like comic books or match books.
Vocabulary lists containing hoard
Gimme, Gimme, Gimme
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Beowulf
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "H"
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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:
“What people who hoard will finally realize,” Mawarire said, “is there’s an emptiness that comes where a sense of purpose should go.”
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Plenty of business scions have inherited a fortune and used it to make a slightly bigger hoard.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Something similar could be under way with Japan’s plans to use an emergency Fed loan facility to raise cash to prop up the yen without having to sell its hoard of Treasurys.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The rightful owner has five years to claim the hoard under Belgian law - though the local prosecutor, who has launched an investigation, said it was not yet known who this might be.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
My instinct was always to hoard it—Betsie was growing so very weak!
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
A small group of men hoards wealth and resources, while the peasant class is heavily taxed, laws brutally enforced.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
Strategy, the software company that amassed one of the largest publicly disclosed bitcoin hoards, is down by more than 80% from its 52-week highs,
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
It also started buying up hoards of mortgage-backed securities to drive down borrowing costs for American households.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 17, 2026
But not even Greenland’s valuable geographical position and hoards of critical minerals could compensate for damaging the trans-Atlantic alliance that remains fundamental to U.S. security.
From Barron's ● Jan. 8, 2026
There are hoards of gentlemen dressed in velvet and silk, sailors in their wide-legged slops, and one very dirty boy selling eels.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
So why are people so captivated by videos of hoarded homes, crime scene cleans and other extreme clear-outs?
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
In the lead-up to the Great Depression, they hoarded coins and bullion, clinging to their wealth.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
Ironically, some of the more shareholder-unfriendly banks have a lot of capital because they hoarded the capital; they didn’t allocate it.
From Barron's ● Apr. 16, 2026
Unified has enough money hoarded in reserves to reach a desired agreement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
For years they hoarded the words and the magic, growing stronger on it every day.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
He argues speculation and hoarding, rather than a genuine shortage, are driving prices higher.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Price discovery is critical, else you get hoarding, shortages and bare shelves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Really, what drives fans nuts is L.A.’s oligarch-style hoarding: its presumptuous seizing of what everyone needs, even when they don’t need it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026
While you don’t have any control over point devaluation, you can protect yourself by spending your points and not hoarding them.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026
Maybe the rats were hoarding supplies for the summer drought up there.
From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt
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.
