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View synonyms for

herd

1

[hurd]

noun

  1. a number of animals kept, feeding, or traveling together; drove; flock.

    a herd of cattle;

    a herd of sheep;

    a herd of zebras.

  2. Sometimes Disparaging.a large group of people.

    The star was mobbed by a herd of autograph seekers.

    Synonyms: ,
  3. any large quantity.

    a herd of bicycles.

  4. the herd, the common people; the masses; the rabble.

    He had no opinions of his own, but simply followed the herd.



verb (used without object)

  1. to unite or go in a herd; assemble or associate as a herd.

herd

2

[hurd]

noun

  1. a person in charge of a herd (usually used in combination).

    a cowherd;

    a goatherd;

    a shepherd.

verb (used with object)

  1. to tend, drive, or lead (cattle, sheep, etc.).

    Synonyms: , ,
  2. to conduct or drive (a group of people) to a destination.

    The teacher herded the children into the classroom.

herd

1

/ ɜː /

noun

    1. archaica man or boy who tends livestock; herdsman

    2. ( in combination )

      goatherd

      swineherd

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to drive forwards in a large group

  2. to look after (livestock)

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

herd

2

/ ɜː /

noun

  1. a large group of mammals living and feeding together, esp a group of cattle, sheep, etc

  2. derogatorya large group of people

  3. derogatorythe large mass of ordinary people

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. to collect or be collected into or as if into a herd

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Grammar Note

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Word History and Origins

Origin of herd1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English heord; cognate with Gothic hairda, German Herde

Origin of herd2

First recorded before 900; Middle English herd(e), hirde, Old English hierde, hirde, hyrde; cognate with Gothic hairdeis, German Hirt(e); derivative of herd 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of herd1

Old English hirde; related to Old Norse hirthir, Gothic hairdeis, Old High German hirti, Old Saxon hirdi, herdi; see herd 1

Origin of herd2

Old English heord; related to Old Norse öٳ, Gothic hairda, Old High German herta, Greek óٳܲ troop
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. ride herd on, to have charge or control of; maintain discipline over.

    He rode herd on 40 students in each class.

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Synonym Study

See flock 1.
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

That night, the police spent most of their time herding protesters into areas where they could be cited for breaking curfew and taken away on buses.

From

I followed a herd of people toward the entrance where we went through a security checkpoint, then a bag check line, which took about 30 minutes to get through.

From

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has previously described dog ownership - other than for the purposes of herding, hunting and security - as "reprehensible".

From

He was one of the original three authors of the “Great Barrington Declaration,” a manifesto for herd immunity published in October 2020.

From

"Today, the Russian Aerospace Forces lost not just two of their rarest aircraft, but truly two unicorns in the herd," he wrote.

From

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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