hoard

noun

\ ˈhȯrd

Definition of hoard

(Entry 1 of 2)

: 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 2)

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 : to accumulate a hoard (see hoard entry 1) a tendency to hoard

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Examples of hoard in a Sentence

Noun

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

Once the Christmas branch was up and running, the next step in right-sizing my holiday was to rummage through The Box and edit my hoard of lights, ornaments, decorations and ephemera. — Al Kemp, The Seattle Times, "How I came to grips with a downsized Christmas," 12 Dec. 2018 Lankford's Grocery & Market At Lankford Grocery & Market in Montrose, an old-fashioned Coca-Cola underscores the divey atmosphere, and there are hoards of people trying to find an open picnic table. — Diana Oates, Condé Nast Traveler, "20 Best Restaurants in Houston," 1 Oct. 2018 Rumors of a gold hoard on the ship have swirled for decades, although the possibility of a sunken treasure has also been viewed with skepticism. — James Rogers, Fox News, "Sunken Imperial Russian warship may contain $130 billion in gold," 19 July 2018 After October’s decrease, the foreign-exchange hoard, the world’s largest, totaled $3.053 trillion, according to the data. — WSJ, "Strong Dollar Hits China’s Foreign-Exchange Reserves," 7 Nov. 2018 The audience continued to stand on their feet and a hoard of cameras and reporters looked on as the former first lady ticked off a list of motherly adorations. — Ashley Killough, CNN, "A mother-son story: How Barbara Bush tried to save Jeb's campaign," 21 Apr. 2018 In the interview, Lili also discussed her reasoning for keeping her relationship so private, despite the hoards of Sprousehart fans (me) who are desperate for any sliver of content. — Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, "Lili Reinhart Reveals What It’s Really Like to Date Cole Sprouse," 9 Oct. 2018 Wolters’s cash hoard has declined to €654 million at the end of June, from €1 billion a year earlier. — Nina Trentmann, WSJ, "European Finance Chiefs Struggle to Spend Cash," 3 Sep. 2018 The club level also includes an afternoon tea, likely for hoards of British travelers. — Laura Ratliff, Condé Nast Traveler, "35 Best Hotels in Dubai," 4 Mar. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Your hand size is limited to four cards, so there’s no way to hoard a perfect sequence of cards to cut down on waste. — Aaron Zimmerman, Ars Technica, "Abstract board games are all the rage—and Reef is the year’s best," 17 Nov. 2018 The assailants had hoarded large quantities of explosives that were apparently intended for attacks on civilians in public places and on security installations. — Alice Su, The Seattle Times, "Suspects in latest Jordan attack are homegrown militants," 13 Aug. 2018 Part of me doesn't quite believe that Carey lets anyone touch her famously long lashes with a $9 mascara, but the other part wants to run out and hoard LashBlast. — Leah Prinzivalli, Allure, "Mariah Carey's Makeup Artist Uses This Drugstore Mascara on the Singer," 12 Oct. 2018 The painting is one of the most important of the works bequeathed to the Kunstmuseum Bern by Mr. Gurlitt, a recluse who hoarded about 1,500 artworks, some looted by the Nazis, in his homes in Munich and Salzburg, Austria. — New York Times, "French and Swiss Museums to Share a Cézanne With a Murky Past," 3 July 2018 Observers believe there will be something of a hoarding effect in how capital is invested in opportunity funds. — Jeff Andrews, Curbed, "Opportunity zones: vital community development tool or tax windfall for the rich?," 3 Oct. 2018 Each mask is packaged in a holiday bauble, perfect for splitting among pals or hoarding for yourself in true Grinchy spirit. — Leah Prinzivalli, Teen Vogue, "PÜR Unveils 'The Grinch'–Inspired 5-Piece Beauty Collection," 1 Oct. 2018 San Diego, which had kept its 40-man roster full, did not acquire a player in the major league phase of the Rule 5 draft, which is designed to prevent teams from hoarding prospects. — Dennis Lin, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Padres sit out Rule 5 draft for a change," 14 Dec. 2017 In 2014, another Brooklyn postal worker was arrested for hoarding 40,000 pieces of mail, but charges were later dropped. — Jamie Ducharme, Fortune, "An 'Overwhelmed' Postal Worker Didn't Deliver 17,000 Pieces of Mail," 21 Apr. 2018

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.