Once again, I need to distinguish between two words that sound similar but are actually quite different: hoard vs. horde.

This is a hoard:

Alternately, this is a hoard too:

The first is hoard used as a verb to mean “to accumulate for preservation, future use, etc., in a hidden or carefully guarded place: to hoard food during a shortage.” This is hoarding as it is so commonly portrayed in popular culture.

The second is hoard as a noun, which is “a supply or accumulation that is hidden or carefully guarded for preservation, future use, etc.,” such as this Anglo Saxon hoard of gold found in a field by a British farmer. This usage is less commonly known in the U.S., where one is unlikely to find a hoard of Celtic silver in one’s back garden.

A horde, however, is this: