2 N‑COUNT A hoard is a store of things that you have saved and that are valuable or important to you or you do not want other people to have. □ [+ of ] The case involves a hoard of silver and jewels valued at up to $40m.
hoard|ing /hɔː r d I ŋ/ (hoardings ) N‑COUNT A hoarding is a very large board at the side of a road or on the side of a building, which is used for displaying advertisements and posters. [BRIT ] □ An advertising hoarding on the platform caught her attention. in AM, usually use billboard
hoarse /hɔː r s/ (hoarser , hoarsest ) ADJ If your voice is hoarse or if you are hoarse , your voice sounds rough and unclear, for example because your throat is sore. □ 'So what do you think?' she said in a hoarse whisper. ● hoarse|ly ADV □ 'Thank you,' Maria said hoarsely. ● hoarse|ness N‑UNCOUNT □ Hoarseness is very common in the winter season.
hoary /hɔː ri/ ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe a problem or subject as hoary , you mean that it is old and familiar. □ …the hoary old myth that women are unpredictable.
hoax /hoʊ ks/ (hoaxes ) N‑COUNT [oft N n] A hoax is a trick in which someone tells people a lie, for example that there is a bomb somewhere when there is not, or that a picture is genuine when it is not. □ He denied making the hoax call but was convicted after a short trial.
hoax|er /hoʊ ksə r / (hoaxers ) N‑COUNT A hoaxer is someone who carries out a hoax. [mainly BRIT ]
hob /hɒ b/ (hobs ) N‑COUNT A hob is a surface on top of a cooker or set into a work surface, which can be heated in order to cook things on it. [BRIT ] in AM, use burner
hob|ble /hɒ b ə l/ (hobbles , hobbling , hobbled )
1 VERB If you hobble , you walk in an awkward way with small steps, for example because your foot is injured. □ [V adv/prep] He got up slowly and hobbled over to the coffee table. □ [V ] The swelling had begun to go down, and he was able, with pain, to hobble.
2 VERB To hobble something or someone means to make it more difficult for them to be successful or to achieve what they want. □ [V n] Poverty not only demeans our society but its cost also hobbles our economy.
hob|by /hɒ bi/ (hobbies ) N‑COUNT A hobby is an activity that you enjoy doing in your spare time. □ My hobbies are letter writing, football, music, photography, and tennis.
ho bby-horse (hobby-horses ) also hobbyhorse N‑COUNT You describe a subject or idea as your hobby-horse if you have strong feelings on it and like talking about it whenever you have the opportunity. □ Honesty is a favourite hobby-horse for Courau.
hob|by|ist /hɒ bi I st/ (hobbyists ) N‑COUNT You can refer to person who is very interested in a particular hobby and spends a lot of time on it as a hobbyist .
hob|nob /hɒ bnɒb/ (hobnobs , hobnobbing , hobnobbed ) VERB If you disapprove of the way in which someone is spending a lot of time with a group of people, especially rich and powerful people, you can say that he or she is hobnobbing with them. [INFORMAL , DISAPPROVAL ] □ [V + with ] This gave Bill an opportunity to hobnob with the company's president, board chairman, and leading executives. [Also V ]
hobo /hoʊ boʊ/ (hobos or hoboes )
1 N‑COUNT A hobo is a person who has no home, especially one who travels from place to place and gets money by begging. [AM ] in BRIT, use tramp 2 N‑COUNT A hobo is a worker, especially a farm worker, who goes from place to place in order to find work. [AM ]
hock /hɒ k/ (hocks )
1 N‑COUNT [usu n N ] A hock is a piece of meat from above the foot of an animal, especially a pig.
2 PHRASE If someone is in hock , they are in debt. □ Even company directors on £100,000 a year can be deeply in hock to the banks.
3 PHRASE If you are in hock to someone, you feel you have to do things for them because they have given you money or support. □ He is in hock to the bank just like his British counterpart.
hock|ey /hɒ ki/
1 N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Hockey is an outdoor game played between two teams of 11 players who use long curved sticks to hit a small ball and try to score goals. [BRIT ] □ She played hockey for the national side. □ …the British hockey team. in AM, usually use field hockey 2 N‑UNCOUNT [oft N n] Hockey is a game played on ice between two teams of 11 players who use long curved sticks to hit a small rubber disk, called a puck, and try to score goals. [AM ] in BRIT, usually use ice hockey
hocus-pocus /hoʊ kəs poʊ kəs/ N‑UNCOUNT If you describe something as hocus-pocus , you disapprove of it because you think it is false and intended to trick or deceive people. [DISAPPROVAL ]
hod /hɒ d/ (hods ) N‑COUNT A hod is a container that is used by a building worker for carrying bricks.
hodge|podge /hɒ dʒpɒdʒ/ also hodge-podge N‑SING A hodgepodge is an untidy mixture of different types of things. [mainly AM , INFORMAL ] □ [+ of ] …a hodgepodge of maps, small tools, and notebooks. in BRIT, usually use hotch-potch
hoe /hoʊ / (hoes , hoeing , hoed )
1 N‑COUNT A hoe is a gardening tool with a long handle and a small square blade, which you use to remove small weeds and break up the surface of the soil.
2 VERB If you hoe a field or crop, you use a hoe on the weeds or soil there. □ [V n] I have to feed the chickens and hoe the potatoes. □ [V ] Today he was hoeing in the vineyard.