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

• army
• bike [chiefly Scottish]
• cram
• crowd
• crush
• drove
• flock
• herd
• host
• legion
• mass
• mob
• multitude
• press
• rout
• scrum
• swarm
• throng

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

And with a master plan mapped out for the next 30 years, now is the time to go, before the hordes descend. —Ryan Krogh, Outside Online, 24 Jan. 2025

Instead, my eyes were trained on the hordes of the city’s residents carrying umbrellas and wearing gloves… on one of the sunniest days of the summer. —Sarah Kinonen, Allure, 14 Jan. 2025

Iconic Motorbike Auctions Honda almost always achieves its goals, with the one notable exception being its failure to beat the two-stroke hordes with a four-stroke in Grand Prix racing. —Mike Hanlon, New Atlas, 12 Jan. 2025

You’re annoyed by it all, until the next horde of patrons do the same. —Cheri Lucas Rowlands, Longreads, 10 Dec. 2024

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

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