hoard

noun (1)

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\ ˈhȯrd

plural hoards

Definition of hoard

(Entry 1 of 3)

: a supply or fund stored up and often hidden away a hoard of cash

hoard

verb

hoarded; hoarding; hoards

Definition of hoard (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

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 the people outside disperse their affections, you hoard yours, you nurse them into intensity— Joseph Conrad

intransitive verb

: 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)

hoard

noun (2)

plural hoards

Definition of hoard (Entry 3 of 3)

: a temporary board fence put around a building being erected or repaired : hoarding entry 2 sense 1

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about hoard

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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 Web: Noun Headley and her ancient forebear, diving together into the word-hoard. — The Atlantic Culture Desk, The Atlantic, "The Books Briefing: The Best Books of 2020," 25 Dec. 2020 The stock fell below $1 two months after Soltau took charge because investors understood reality: JCPenney was $4 billion in debt with a junk credit rating, a sinking cash hoard and showed no signs of a quick turnaround. — David Goldman, CNN, "JCPenney's CEO is out after two years of failure," 30 Dec. 2020 Upon recognizing the fish’s high value, Hans might have insisted the crew preserve it to add to his hoard of expensive goods. — Theresa Machemer, Smithsonian Magazine, "Well-Preserved Atlantic Sturgeon Found in 15th-Century Danish Shipwreck," 8 Sep. 2020 The hoard is valued at more than five million dollars. — Rebecca Mead, The New Yorker, "The Curse of the Buried Treasure," 9 Nov. 2020 And, in this huge new hoard of letters, how many are addressed to Haynes? — Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, "The Heartsick Hilarity of John Berryman’s Letters," 12 Oct. 2020 ETFs now sit on a hoard of gold weighing 3,824.05 metric tons, more than any central bank other than the Fed. — Joe Wallace, WSJ, "Gold’s Record High Gives New Life to Dollar Doomsayers," 29 Sep. 2020 Riyadh and Moscow had anticipated that a resumption in global economic activity, combined with the supply curbs, would sharply deplete the hoard of surplus oil inventory accumulated during lockdowns. — Grant Smith, Bloomberg.com, "OPEC+ Bid to Rescue Oil Market Falters as Demand Recovery Stalls," 12 Sep. 2020 That mixed with a hoard of options activity from retail day traders made for a heady cocktail. — Sarah Ponczek, Bloomberg.com, "A Week Like This Was a Long Time Coming for Day-Trader Faithful," 4 Sep. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb This would be the perfect time to hoard the casino tax dollars and increase the city's reserves. — Arkansas Online, "OPINION | EDITORIAL: Money in, money out with casino revenue," 3 Jan. 2021 Are the wealthiest countries going to hoard all the vaccines? — Sarah Midkiff, refinery29.com, "Are Wealthy Countries Going To Hoard The Vaccine, Like Rich People Hoarded Toilet Paper?," 16 Dec. 2020 Oklahoma City continues to remake its roster as general manager Sam Presti continues to hoard first-round picks. — Jeff Zillgitt, USA TODAY, "Thunder trade Chris Paul to Suns for four players, first-round pick," 16 Nov. 2020 This may prompt us to hoard cleaning supplies, soaps, detergents, hand sanitizers, wipes, bleach, etc. — Washington Post, "Hints From Heloise: Shelf life of cleaners," 22 Oct. 2020 The company also had to educate customers not to hoard. — Chris Stokel-walker, Bloomberg.com, "A Rare Lockdown Retail Success Story," 7 Dec. 2020 As in the spring when states announced lockdowns, experts advise people not to hoard. — oregonlive, "Another toilet paper shortage? Panic-buying clears some shelves ahead of new coronavirus lockdown," 16 Nov. 2020 The teams that manage usually keep their cap sheets clean-ish and hoard at least their own first-round picks. — Joe Freeman, oregonlive, "CJ McCollum helps voting cause, Miami Heat’s incredible turnaround, LeBron James makes history, NBA all-snub team: Playoffs news and notes," 17 Sep. 2020 According to the firm, about 80% of local-currency government bonds have been trading below 1%, which limits the room for such notes to rise in value during a bout of risk aversion since investors can simply hoard cash instead. — Justina Lee, Bloomberg.com, "Bridgewater’s Risk-Parity Shift Jolts a $400 Billion Quant Trade," 1 Sep. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hoard.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.