Definition of HORDE

horde

Plural: hordes

Noun

  • a vast multitude
  • a nomadic community
  • a moving crowd
  • A wandering troop or gang; especially, a clan or tribe of a nomadic people (originally Tatars) migrating from place to place for the sake of pasturage, plunder, etc.; a predatory multitude.
  • A large number of people or things.

Verb

Verb Forms: horded, hording, hordes

  • To gather in a large, often disorganized, group or crowd.
  • to travel en masse, to flock

Examples

  • He watched the letters HORDE on his rack, waiting for a chance to play a long word.
  • We were beset by a horde of street vendors who thought we were tourists and would buy their cheap souvenirs.

Origin / Etymology

Recorded in English since 1555. From Middle French horde, from German Horde, from Polish horda, from Russian орда́ (ordá, “horde", 'clan, troop'”), probably from Kipchak Turkic (compare Tatar урда (urda, “horde”)), ultimately from Proto-Turkic *ordu (“place of staying of the army, ruler etc.”). Cognates include Turkish ordu (“camp, army”), Mongolian орд (ord, “court, castle, royal compound, camp, horde”) and Kalmyk орда (orda). Doublet of orda and Urdu.

Synonyms

drove, host, legion, swarm

Scrabble Score: 9

horde: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
horde: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
horde: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 8

horde: valid Words With Friends Word