horde

Name: horde, English Word Data
Creator: Wiktionary
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

/hɔːd/

//hɔːd// noun

By PlainSpell · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) · analyzed September 3, 2026

The verdict

“horde” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #21,541. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#21,541
frequency rank, English: 2,646
“H” headwords: 6
tracked misspellings: 20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A 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.

Corpus desk

Index EN-horde · horde · English

horde · rank #21,541 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

FREQ-MID #21,541
LEN-MID 5 letters
VOW-2 2 vowels
CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
VAR-MID 6 variants
BOOK-MID 2,646
PHOTO-FINISH hoard

Nearest frequency peer: hoard (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Herr

78,464
HG

78,462
hoard

78,461
horde

78,460
humming

78,459
IMDb

78,457

What this shows Bars show where “horde” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

horde vs horn

60% similar

horde vs hose

60% similar

horde vs Hyde

40% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for horde
Property	Value
Headword	horde
Language	English
Part of speech	Noun
IPA	/hɔːd/
Letters	5
Frequency rank	#21,541
Misspellings tracked	6
Confusable pairs	20
Source	Wiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “horde” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).hordelands here:

#21,541

#1#100#1K#10K#100K

← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “hoard” (#21,540), “humming” (#21,542), “HG” (#21,539). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around horde (IPA /hɔːd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #21,541 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for horde, with forms such as "hhorde", "hodre", and "hordde". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "horn", "hose", "Hyde", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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… The correct English form is horde, spelled H-O-R-D-E.

Definition

1
A 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.
2
A large number of people or things.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how horde appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

We were beset by a horde of street vendors who thought we were tourists and would buy their cheap souvenirs.
It is true, the more progressive members of our horde lived in the caves above the river.

Etymology

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.

This word in other languages

horda(Español)horde(Français)Horde(Deutsch)horda(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

hhorde
hodre
hordde
hored
horrde
ohrde

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of horde - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

Edit distance from "horde"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "horde"?

"horde" is spelled H-O-R-D-E. The IPA pronunciation is /hɔːd/.

What does "horde" mean?

As a noun, "horde" means: A 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.

What words are commonly confused with "horde"?

"horde" is commonly confused with "horn", "hose", "Hyde". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.

How do you pronounce "horde"?

The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "horde" is /hɔːd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.

What is the origin of the word "horde"?

Is PlainSpell free to use?

Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "horde", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 5 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

hoard#21,540 Healy#21,535 girly#21,526 gated#21,525

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

IMDb6 variants goth6 variants glam6 variants emoji6 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "horde". Here's where to go from here.

"horde" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "horn". View pair
6 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
Usage frequency rank #21,541 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
Browse more English words in the "H" letter cohort. H–Z browse
PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.