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

For the past couple of months, the Editorial Board and a veritable horde of guest columnists have been fixated on the mayor and his stance on Israel. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 14 Oct. 2026

The night before, amid the horde at the opening of Thaddaeus Ropac’s Georg Baselitz show, actor Damian Lewis was sizing up the big canvases. — Hikmat Mohammed, ARTnews.com, 14 Oct. 2026

More mature than the party hordes that roam this part of town, the vibe here is the casual elegance that blends drinking rum out of a pineapple while retaining your sophistication while doing it. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Oct. 2026

Their backing attracted hordes of counterrevolutionaries and Mubarak loyalists. — Abdelrahman Elgendy, Time, 6 Oct. 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