plural hoardings
1
a
: the practice of collecting or accumulating something (such as money or food)
The hoarding and misuse of resources was uncommon even in times of natural disaster …—
Tanvi Nagpal
Tanvi Nagpal
b
: something that is hoarded
—usually plural
Inside the net with us was a large brown paper bag, spewing forth the Halloween hoardings of the child in the gorilla suit …—John Irving
John Irving2
psychology
: the compulsion to continually accumulate a variety of items that are often considered useless or worthless by others accompanied by an inability to discard the items without great distress
Hoarding is marked by an overwhelming desire to collect items and an inability to discard things that may seem useless, to such a point that the collections cause stress and start impacting a person's health, career or relationships.—Erin Allday
Erin AlldayPeople justify hoarding as curating and recycling, deeming odd objects beautiful and useful.—Peter D. Kramer
see also hoarding disorder
Peter D. Kramer
plural hoardings
1
: a temporary board fence put about a building being erected or repaired
called also hoard
2
British
: billboard
Examples of hoarding in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
Sovereignty doesn’t mean stockpiling AI models or hoarding tools.
—Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
But the classic dragon—reptilian, treasure-hoarding, and doomed to be slain—feels distinctly Indo-European.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
As a result, thousands of seats suffered from a restricted view, particularly in the lower tiers behind each goal where new, taller advertising hoardings and the ever-present scrum of photographers combined to obscure a decent chunk of the pitch.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoarding
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Noun
The bronze objects at Knossos may not all have been deposited through hoarding, and may also have been Final Palatial rather than Neopalatial.
—Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 29 Oct. 2025
Sovereignty doesn’t mean stockpiling AI models or hoarding tools.
—Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 27 Oct. 2025
But the classic dragon—reptilian, treasure-hoarding, and doomed to be slain—feels distinctly Indo-European.
—Manvir Singh, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
As a result, thousands of seats suffered from a restricted view, particularly in the lower tiers behind each goal where new, taller advertising hoardings and the ever-present scrum of photographers combined to obscure a decent chunk of the pitch.
—Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hoarding
Cite this Entry
“Hoarding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoarding. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
hoarding
noun
hoard·ing
ˈhȯrd-iŋ 
: the compulsion to continually accumulate a variety of items that are often considered useless or worthless by others accompanied by an inability to discard the items without great distress
Hoarding is marked by an overwhelming desire to collect items and an inability to discard things that may seem useless, to such a point that the collections cause stress and start impacting a person's health, career or relationships.—Erin Allday
Erin AlldayPeople justify hoarding as curating and recycling, deeming odd objects beautiful and useful.—Peter D. Kramer
see hoarding disorder
Peter D. KramerLove words? Need even more definitions?
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