horde

noun

ˈhȯrd 

1

a

: a political subdivision of central Asian nomads

b

: a people or tribe of nomadic life

2

: a large unorganized group of individuals : a teeming crowd or throng

hordes of peasants

Synonyms

• army
• bike [chiefly Scottish]
• cram
• crowd
• crush
• drove
• flock
• herd
• host
• legion
• mass
• mob
• multitude
• press
• rout
• scrum
• swarm
• throng

Choose the Right Synonym for horde

crowd, throng, horde, crush, mob mean an assembled multitude.

crowd implies a close gathering and pressing together.

a crowd gathered

throng and horde suggest movement and pushing.

a throng of reporters

a horde of shoppers

crush emphasizes the compactness of the group, the difficulty of individual movement, and the attendant discomfort.

a crush of fans

mob implies a disorderly crowd with the potential for violence.

an angry mob

Examples of horde in a Sentence

A horde of tourists entered the museum.

Hordes of reporters were shouting questions.

Recent Examples on the Web

With hordes of German and Japanese investors figuratively waving wads of marks and yen at anyone offering dollars, the value of the U.S. dollar set new records. —Edward Lotterman, Twin Cities, 27 Apr. 2025

The white facade of St. Peter’s glowed pink as the sun rose Saturday and hordes of mourners rushed into the square. —Nicole Winfield and Colleen Barry, Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2025

To avoid the crowds, try to get there right when the site opens, before the hordes of travelers come in. —Chloe Arrojado, AFAR Media, 25 Apr. 2025

The torturous clobbering comes after Joel saves Abby from infected hordes and is coldly executed in front of his surrogate daughter, Ellie (Bella Ramsey). —Bryan Alexander, USA Today, 22 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French, German, & Polish; Middle French & German, from Polish horda, from Ukrainian dialect gorda, alteration of Ukrainian orda, from Old Russian, from Turkic orda, ordu khan's residence

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for horde

• board
• bored
• chord
• cord
• corde
• cored
• fjord
• floored
• gored
• gourd
• hoard
• lord

Kids Definition

horde

noun

ˈhō(ə)rd 

ˈhȯ(ə)rd

1

: a wandering people or tribe

2

: a great multitude : throng, swarm

hordes of tourists