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herd
1[ hurd ]
noun
a herd of cattle;
a herd of sheep;
a herd of zebras.
- Sometimes Disparaging. a large group of people:
The star was mobbed by a herd of autograph seekers.
Synonyms: ,
- any large quantity:
a herd of bicycles.
- 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)
- to unite or go in a herd; assemble or associate as a herd.
herd
2[ hurd ]
noun
- a person in charge of a herd (usually used in combination):
a cowherd;
a goatherd;
a shepherd.
verb (used with object)
- to tend, drive, or lead (cattle, sheep, etc.).
Synonyms: , ,
- to conduct or drive (a group of people) to a destination:
The teacher herded the children into the classroom.
herd
1/ ɜː /
noun
- a large group of mammals living and feeding together, esp a group of cattle, sheep, etc
- derogatory.a large group of people
- derogatory.the large mass of ordinary people
verb
- to collect or be collected into or as if into a herd
herd
2/ ɜː /
noun
- a man or boy who tends livestock; herdsman
- ( in combination )
swineherd
goatherd
verb
- to drive forwards in a large group
- to look after (livestock)
Grammar Note
Word History and Origins
Origin of herd1
Word History and Origins
Origin of herd1
Origin of herd2
Idioms and Phrases
- ride herd on, to have charge or control of; maintain discipline over:
He rode herd on 40 students in each class.
More idioms and phrases containing herd
see ride herd on .Synonym Study
Example Sentences
Parents could no longer reliably count on herd immunity to keep newborns too young to vaccinate safe from the disease.
The zoo said that it’s currently unfeasible to replace Billy and Tina’s two former herd members, who recently died, and that elephants need to live in larger social groups, so officials opted to move them.
Other hazing methods approved by the department in recent years, such as electric fences with red flags attached that flutter in the wind, have done little to keep the wolves from their herds.
The Safari Park captured the herd’s defensive formation on camera as a magnitude 5.2 earthquake rattled the region, sending shock waves through the elephant enclosure and across Southern California.
Roughly 95% of a community must be vaccinated against the measles to achieve herd immunity, when enough of a group is immune to a disease that its spread is limited and the unvaccinated are protected.
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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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