plural hoards
: a supply or fund stored up and often hidden away
a hoard of cash
hoarded; hoarding; hoards
1
: to collect and often hide away a supply of : to accumulate a hoard (see hoard entry 1) of
hoarding food
2
: to keep (something, such as one's thoughts) to oneself
she hoarded her intention—
Virginia Woolf
Virginia Woolfthe people outside disperse their affections, you hoard yours, you nurse them into intensity—Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad
: to collect and often hide away a supply of something
specifically
: to engage in compulsive hoarding
One thing people who hoard have in common is a skewed perceived value of possessions. —My Edmonds News (Edmonds, Washington)
My Edmonds News (Edmonds, Washington)
plural hoards
: a temporary board fence put around a building being erected or repaired : hoarding entry 2 sense 1
Synonyms
Examples of hoard in a Sentence
Noun (1)
a squirrel's hoard of nuts
keeps a hoard of empty yogurt containers in his basement workshop for storing whatnots
Verb
he's been hoarding empty yogurt containers all winter, with the intention of using them to start seedlings in the spring
Recent Examples on the Web
Andrea Margolis, Fox News, 15 Jan. 2025
Warren Buffett, who has long favored holding massive amounts of cash, is headed into 2025 with a particularly gigantic war chest at Berkshire Hathaway — in fact the largest cash hoard in 34 years.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 22 Dec. 2024
Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025
The report calculates that PPE hoarding led to between roughly $259 billion and $503 billion in overall damage to the Missouri economy.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hoard 
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Noun
Among the hoard is Eugenius, an infamous ruler considered illegitimate by the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire.
—Andrea Margolis, Fox News, 15 Jan. 2025
Warren Buffett, who has long favored holding massive amounts of cash, is headed into 2025 with a particularly gigantic war chest at Berkshire Hathaway — in fact the largest cash hoard in 34 years.
—Yun Li, CNBC, 22 Dec. 2024
Verb
What To Know Only one item remains in the five-year suit: whether China, which hoarded masks and other personal protective equipment, drove up costs for Missourians and put them at risk.
—Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 30 Jan. 2025
The report calculates that PPE hoarding led to between roughly $259 billion and $503 billion in overall damage to the Missouri economy.
—Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for hoard
Articles Related to hoard
Dictionary Entries Near hoard
Cite this Entry
“Hoard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoard. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
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