Horde Meaning
/hɔːd/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA 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.
nounA large number of people or things.
Sentence Examples
Tom was surrounded by a horde of screaming fangirls.
The Golden Horde wreaked havoc and death all around Eurasia.
CEFR Practice Quiz
A huge ____ of angry protesters blocked all traffic in the city center.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A large ____ of tourists descended upon the tiny village during the summer festival.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"It is true, the more progressive members of our horde lived in the caves above the river."
— 1907, Jack London, Before Adam, Chapter IV:
"And so Tarzan of the Apes dropped lightly to the turf into the midst of the fierce and hideous horde—he had completed the cycle of evolution, and had returned to be once again a brute among brutes."
— 1913, Edgar Rice Burroughs, The Return of Tarzan, New York: Ballantine Books, published 1963, page 197:
""What wouldst thou insinuate?" replied Elmuton, sarcastically; “has he not been watched, and secretly discovered hordeing with Christians?"
— 1824, T. E., Oriental Wanderings, or the Fortunes of Felix. A romance, page 69:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
A huge ____ of angry protesters blocked all traffic in the city center.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A large ____ of tourists descended upon the tiny village during the summer festival.