The Smithsons have a bad habit of hoarding warn-out stuff in the building’s parking lot so last week a horde of angry neighbors complained to them about moving things out.
The words hoard and horde are very easy to mix up because they have the exact same pronunciation. We will define each term in this article until you are able to use them flawlessly. Hoard as a verb is used when you’re amassing valuables for later use. Its classic use involves hiding or preserving some sort of hidden treasure. A hoard is also a noun that denotes a pile of hoarded stuff. Horde on the other hand, refers to a mob of people, similar to the angry crowds you see in movies that chase out people. The use of horde is very critical and deprecating so you should really think before using it.
Hoard vs horde – definitions, meanings and example sentences
Definition of hoard
The verb hoard means stocking or gathering valuables for later use. Valuable materials that have been collected are referred to as the noun hoard. If you have a tendency to collect stuff then you’re a hoarder.
Example sentences of hoard
- Hoard as a noun:
The pyramids are a site of great mystery. Many excavators continue to find hoards of unique treasures in the tombs.
The great Egyptian pyramids still have many mysteries locked inside them. Followers of the Pharaohs (Egyptian rulers) from the older ages buried heaps of treasures in the tombs for preserving them for future thus many excavators still continue to discover unique treasures there.
- Hoard as a verb:
Due to the corona outbreak, many people hoarded food, sanitizers and masks in their houses for later use.
Due to the corona virus, we all witnessed grocery stores running out of food supplies, sanitizers and face masks. This is because many people, in a state of panic, accumulated a lot more than their daily consumption of food and supplies.
- Hoard as a verb:
The daughter explored the unique collection of valuable metals that his dad had hoarded over the years.
Hoard in this sentence can be replaced with gathered. This sentence talks about a daughter who went through the metallic ornaments that his father had gathered over the years.
Definition of horde
The noun horde means a massive crowd. Most of the times, hordes are crazy and angry and are engaging in a serious cause. The origin of the word lies in the Turkish words ‘ordā’ or ‘ordū’, which literally imply ‘residence or military encampment.’ The word can also be used as a noun which denotes people or animals gathering to form a horde.
Example sentences of horde
- Horde as a noun:
The news anchor announced that a dangerous horde of dragonflies swarmed and destroyed many fields in the outskirts of the city.
This sentence tells us that a dangerous flock of dragonflies hovered over the fields in the outskirts of the city and destroyed most of the crops in their way.
- Horde as a noun:
‘I’m so tired today.’ Nita exclaimed. ‘I had to deal with hordes of people because of the sale.’
As is apparent from the above sentence Nita works as a helper in a store. She is exclaiming that she is very tired because she had to deal with crowds of people at the shop because of a sale.
- Horde as a noun:
As I ran to get the ticket for the famous movie, hordes of people kicked and shoved me around. When I reached the counter, the lady told me that all the tickets had been sold out.
In this sentence, the communicator must be annoyed because he didn’t get the ticket for the movie because there was a crowd that pushed and shoved him around.
- Horde as a verb:
This charity home is a place where people keep hording.
Hording here means people keep forming a crowd. This sentence talks about a charity home that helps the community thus people keep forming crowds there.
If you’re facing difficulty regarding remembering these differences. Just associate hoard (verb form) with gather and horde (noun form) with crowd. In terms of their spellings, hoard and gather both have an ‘a’ in them. Whereas, horde and crowd both have an ‘o’ in them. If you want to check the accuracy of your sentences then replace hoard with gather and it should be correct. Similarly replace horde with crowd and it should be correct when you’re talking about people. We hope we’ve cleared out all misconceptions regarding these two words.
