horde

[hawrd, hohrd] /hɔrd, hoʊrd/
noun
1.
a large group, multitude, number, etc.; a mass or crowd:
a horde of tourists.
2.
a tribe or troop of Asian nomads.
3.
any nomadic group.
4.
a moving pack or swarm of animals:
A horde of mosquitoes invaded the camp.
verb (used without object), horded, hording.
5.
to gather in a horde:
The prisoners horded together in the compound.
Origin
1545-55; earlier also hord, hordaCzech, Polish horda < Ukrainian dialect gordá, Ukrainian ordá, Old Russian (orig. in Zolotaya orda the Golden Horde), via Mongolian or directly < Turkic ordu, orda royal residence or camp (later, any military encampment, army); cf. Urdu
Can be confused
hoard, horde.
Synonyms
1. mob, herd, throng.
Examples from the web for horde
  • He's kidnapped by a horde of the creatures one night and implanted with a small bug that allows them to control his actions.
  • Not everyone in the horde was a howling teenage girl.
  • The media horde is as big as the revolutionary armies that freed the republic.
  • The characterization is wryly humorous, while a horde of ravenous lobsters give the plot a wildly ghoulish twist.
  • Each faction has their own map, designed as the factions last stand against the zombie horde.
  • And while there wont be much diversity in this new horde, at least its a start.
  • In other words they horde players.
  • Check it out, and don't make up your mind based on the horde of naysayers here.
  • James was greeted by a horde of news media as he entered the arena.
  • The decision is a victory for an entrenched small company against a horde of bigger, better-financed aspirants.
British Dictionary definitions for horde

horde

/hɔːd/
noun
1.
a vast crowd; throng; mob
2.
a local group of people in a nomadic society
3.
a nomadic group of people, esp an Asiatic group
4.
a large moving mass of animals, esp insects
verb
5.
(intransitive) to form, move in, or live in a horde
Usage note
Horde is sometimes wrongly written where hoard is meant: a hoard (not horde) of gold coins
Word Origin
C16: from Polish horda, from Turkish ordū camp; compare Urdu
Word Origin and History for horde
n.

1550s, from W. Turkic (cf. Tatar urda "horde," Turkish ordu "camp, army"), to English via Polish, French, or Spanish. The initial -h- seems to have been acquired in Polish. Transferred sense of "uncivilized gang" is from 1610s. Related: Hordes.