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 of horde

• swarm
• throng
• crowd
• flock
• mob

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

Aside from royally pissing off hordes of fans (with an average attendance of 25,048 per game, MLB turnstile spins in ’95 were down 20% compared to the league’s pre-strike mark of 31,240), the strike also coincided with a series of media shakeups. —Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 18 Mar. 2026

Some are good for taking out enemy hordes, while others focus on lower shields to do more damage. —Gieson Cacho, Mercury News, 17 Mar. 2026

But not every beach is created equal and some trade hordes of people for relaxing waves and wide-open stretches of sand. —Kristine Hansen, Travel + Leisure, 16 Mar. 2026

Only hordes of people shoulder-to-shoulder, waiting for their chance to see Eileen Gu, the skier, the model, the Stanford student. —Noah Furtado, San Francisco Chronicle, 7 Mar. 2026

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