horde
horde Lexical Profile
horde Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A large, densely packed, and often disorderly group of people or animals.
"A horde of eager shoppers gathered outside the department store hours before the holiday sale began."
Historically, a large nomadic tribe or army of Central Asian pastoralists, or a major political and military division of the Mongol Empire (such as the Golden Horde).
"The medieval chronicler documented the westward expansion of the nomadic horde across the Eurasian steppe."
• verb
To gather, congregate, or move together in a large crowd or swarm.
"Tourists began to horde around the famous monument as soon as the tour buses arrived."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'horde' (a large, tumultuous crowd) with its homophone 'hoard' (a hidden stock of valuables, or to accumulate things excessively).
• Rhymes for horde
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Entered English in the mid-16th century via French and Polish 'horda', ultimately derived from the Turkic 'ordū' meaning 'royal camp' or 'residence of a khan' (which also gave English the word 'Urdu').
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.