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

The dark comedy from director Kris Rey produced by Jurassic World filmmaker Colin Trevorrow follows a young gay man living in Chicago who returns to his hometown in Missouri following the sudden death of his hoarder father. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026

And over the years, this utopian town, which at the beginning looked great, has completely crumbled into a world of recluses and hoarders. — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 7 Sep. 2026

Investigators said the hoarder conditions were so extreme that firefighters could barely move around the inside of the home to search for the possibility that people were trapped inside. — Jennifer McRae, CBS News, 6 Sep. 2026

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

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