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

The two Tier One snipers inserted into the crash site of Mike Durant's helicopter in an attempt to protect him and save his life as a horde of heavily armed Somali fighters descended on the area. —David Hookstead Outkick, FOXNews.com, 25 May 2026

Blank believes his grandpa would have appreciated the way this year’s Mavericks team plays, with an emphasis on getting on base, small ball, run manufacturing, pitching depth, and quality defense over trying to out-slug teams with hordes of homers. —Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 20 May 2026

Unfortunately, with the rosebuds often come a horde of rose aphids. —Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 20 May 2026

Great hordes of prehistoric-looking horseshoe crabs also are coming in to spawn. —Charles Seabrook, AJC.com, 16 May 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