plural hoards
: a supply or fund stored up and often hidden away
a hoard of cash
hoarded; hoarding; hoards
1
: to collect and often hide away a supply of : to accumulate a hoard (see hoard entry 1) of
hoarding food
2
: to keep (something, such as one's thoughts) to oneself
she hoarded her intention—
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolfthe people outside disperse their affections, you hoard yours, you nurse them into intensity—Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
: to collect and often hide away a supply of something
specifically
: to engage in compulsive hoarding
One thing people who hoard have in common is a skewed perceived value of possessions. —My Edmonds News (Edmonds, Washington)
My Edmonds News (Edmonds, Washington)
plural hoards
: a temporary board fence put around a building being erected or repaired : hoarding entry 2 sense 1
Synonyms
Examples of hoard in a Sentence
Noun (1)
a squirrel's hoard of nuts
keeps a hoard of empty yogurt containers in his basement workshop for storing whatnots
Verb
he's been hoarding empty yogurt containers all winter, with the intention of using them to start seedlings in the spring
Recent Examples on the WebBill Stone, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
On the last night, each race was filled with cheers: cheers as the horses and their drivers were released from behind the gate, cheers each time the hoard of racing horses passed by on the half-mile track, and even more cheers when a particular horse took the lead and crossed the finish line.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 8 Feb. 2024
Rumors among Bitcoin users suggested that the hoard was possibly a Silk Road wallet, or perhaps the result of an unrelated, notorious Bitcoin Ponzi scheme carried out by a user known as pirate@40.
Meiklejohn couldn’t say which of the two rumors might be correct.
—Andy Greenberg, Ars Technica, 18 Jan. 2024
The rally—which would be the low-volatility Berkshire’s best day since August—came after Berkshire reported its best-ever annual operating profit of $96 billion and biggest-ever cash hoard of $168 billion.
—Derek Saul, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
In the meantime, however, Berkshire’s cash hoard grew to a record $167.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
—Steve Mollman, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2024
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end had hoards of family and friends in his corner during Sunday's game, which saw his team take home the Super Bowl title for the second year in a row.
—Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 12 Feb. 2024
When Threads was announced, Musk agreed with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s criticism of Meta collecting hoards of data.
—Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 7 July 2023
Social media influencers buzz around promoting both themselves and the brands that invite them, while television cameras navigate the hoards of people, trying to broadcast the race experience to the millions watching at home.
—Ben Church, CNN, 6 Feb. 2024
Jodie Cook, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Tamra began hoarding, stuffing the house with clothing and other items collected from charities.
—Tim Arango, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
The actress said her mom hoarded, and their family home was cramped and cluttered — so much so that Jennette at her brothers slept on mats in the living room.
—Jessica Sager, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024
Sitting shoulder to shoulder, muttering curses in Farsi and Pashto, our engineers had each drunk six cups of tea in less than ten minutes, hoarding an entire thermos for themselves.
—Jamil Jan Kochai, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024
Besides, airline miles may not be worth hoarding anyway.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2024
Critics liken these investors to financial vultures depriving would-be homeowners of a shot at the American Dream while hoarding the profits of the last decade’s run-up in national home prices and rents.
—Calmatters, Orange County Register, 7 Mar. 2024
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is making a plea to some of its customers: stop hoarding our weight loss drugs.
—Ed Cara / Gizmodo, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024
Cooperatives mean that a handful of shareholders like the Walton family aren’t hoarding all the gains while keeping wages low and causing widespread worker food insecurity.
—Errol Schweizer, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
Noun
Berkshire expanded the cash hoard on its Fort Knox balance sheet, retaining the unique ability to take advantage of investment opportunities in any downturn while virtually eliminating the risk of ruin.
—Bill Stone, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2024
On the last night, each race was filled with cheers: cheers as the horses and their drivers were released from behind the gate, cheers each time the hoard of racing horses passed by on the half-mile track, and even more cheers when a particular horse took the lead and crossed the finish line.
—Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 8 Feb. 2024
Rumors among Bitcoin users suggested that the hoard was possibly a Silk Road wallet, or perhaps the result of an unrelated, notorious Bitcoin Ponzi scheme carried out by a user known as pirate@40.
Meiklejohn couldn’t say which of the two rumors might be correct.
—Andy Greenberg, Ars Technica, 18 Jan. 2024
The rally—which would be the low-volatility Berkshire’s best day since August—came after Berkshire reported its best-ever annual operating profit of $96 billion and biggest-ever cash hoard of $168 billion.
—Derek Saul, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024
In the meantime, however, Berkshire’s cash hoard grew to a record $167.6 billion in the fourth quarter.
—Steve Mollman, Fortune, 24 Feb. 2024
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end had hoards of family and friends in his corner during Sunday's game, which saw his team take home the Super Bowl title for the second year in a row.
—Alexandra Schonfeld, Peoplemag, 12 Feb. 2024
When Threads was announced, Musk agreed with Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s criticism of Meta collecting hoards of data.
—Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 7 July 2023
Social media influencers buzz around promoting both themselves and the brands that invite them, while television cameras navigate the hoards of people, trying to broadcast the race experience to the millions watching at home.
—Ben Church, CNN, 6 Feb. 2024
Verb
Operating from lack means seeing money as something that has to be hoarded, guarded and carefully watched.
—Jodie Cook, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Tamra began hoarding, stuffing the house with clothing and other items collected from charities.
—Tim Arango, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2024
The actress said her mom hoarded, and their family home was cramped and cluttered — so much so that Jennette at her brothers slept on mats in the living room.
—Jessica Sager, Peoplemag, 21 Mar. 2024
Sitting shoulder to shoulder, muttering curses in Farsi and Pashto, our engineers had each drunk six cups of tea in less than ten minutes, hoarding an entire thermos for themselves.
—Jamil Jan Kochai, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024
Besides, airline miles may not be worth hoarding anyway.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2024
Critics liken these investors to financial vultures depriving would-be homeowners of a shot at the American Dream while hoarding the profits of the last decade’s run-up in national home prices and rents.
—Calmatters, Orange County Register, 7 Mar. 2024
Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly is making a plea to some of its customers: stop hoarding our weight loss drugs.
—Ed Cara / Gizmodo, Quartz, 7 Mar. 2024
Cooperatives mean that a handful of shareholders like the Walton family aren’t hoarding all the gains while keeping wages low and causing widespread worker food insecurity.
—Errol Schweizer, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hoard.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hoard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoard. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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