hoarder

noun

hoard·​er ˈhȯr-dər 

plural hoarders

: a person or animal that hoards

We love shopping, and logically so: we're planners and hoarders, and by stocking up on available goods now, we can weather lean times tomorrow.

—Natalie Angier

specifically : a person with hoarding disorder

She is someone who buys too much and doesn't throw anything away, even as the stuff piles up and impedes normal life—the textbook definition of a hoarder.

—Steven Kurutz

Most hoarders … know that their behavior is socially unacceptable and as a result actively conceal it from others.

—Sandra G. Boodman

Examples of hoarder in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

During the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people rushed to stock up on necessities, such as toilet paper, hoarders already had extras while others searched empty store shelves. — Shivali H. Patra, Mercury News, 8 July 2026

Strategy isn’t the only digital asset hoarder navigating the crypto bear market. — Camila Grigera Naón, Fortune, 6 July 2026

Leyton said the family’s rental home was in severe disrepair and the couple appeared to be hoarders, per WJRT. — Christina Coulter, PEOPLE, 29 June 2026

My mom was a bit of a hoarder of magazines. — Max Berlinger, Vogue, 11 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1513, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hoarder

• boarder
• border
• corder
• order
• warder
• camcorder
• disorder
• recorder
• reorder
• suborder
• transborder

Medical Definition

hoarder

noun

hoard·​er ˈhȯrd-ər 

: a person affected with hoarding disorder

Most hoarders … know that their behavior is socially unacceptable and as a result actively conceal it from others.

—Sandra G. Boodman