hidebound

adjective

hide·​bound ˈhīd-ˌbau̇nd 

1

of a domestic animal : having a dry skin lacking in pliancy and adhering closely to the underlying flesh

2

: having or reflecting an inflexible or ultraconservative character

hidebound traditions

Did you know?

Hidebound has its origins in agriculture. The adjective, which appeared in English in the early 17th century, originally described cattle whose skin, due to illness or poor feeding, clung to the skeleton and could not be pinched, loosened, or worked with the fingers (the adjective followed an earlier noun form referring to this condition). Hidebound was applied to humans too, to describe people afflicted with tight skin. Figurative use quickly followed, first with a meaning of “stingy” or “miserly.” That sense has since fallen out of use, but a second figurative usage, describing people who are rigid or unyielding in their actions or beliefs, lives on in our language today.

Synonyms of hidebound

• traditional
• conservative
• orthodox

Examples of hidebound in a Sentence

the hidebound innkeeper refused to see the need for a website, insisting that the inn had done without one for over 150 years

Recent Examples on the Web

The nation’s scientific institutions have become hidebound. —David Merritt Johns, The Atlantic, 2 Nov. 2025

And while challenges persist, there are already signs that hidebound profligacy is being replaced by newfound autarky. —Charlie Campbell, Time, 30 Oct. 2025

For a country that had endured two and a half centuries of often absolutist rule by a hidebound monarchy, this was not a trivial achievement. —Kapil Komireddi, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025

At times, some say, the agency has been too hidebound. —Geoff Brumfiel, NPR, 9 May 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for hidebound

• aboveground
• battleground
• belowground
• paperbound
• turnaround
• ultrasound
• underground
• wraparound
• abound
• aground
• around
• astound

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Kids Definition

hidebound

adjective

hide·​bound -ˌbau̇nd 

1

: having a dry skin adhering closely to the underlying flesh

a hidebound horse

2

: stubbornly unwilling to change

Medical Definition

hidebound

adjective

hide·​bound ˈhīd-ˌbau̇nd 

1

: having a dry skin lacking in pliancy and adhering closely to the underlying flesh

—used of domestic animals

2

: having scleroderma

—used of human beings