What does hid mean?
“Hid” is the past tense and past participle of “hide,” a common English verb meaning to put something or someone out of sight. A person may hide an object, conceal information, or keep themselves from being seen. The form is especially common in stories and descriptions of past events: “The witness hid behind a curtain,” or “The path was hid by snow.” In modern usage, “hid” is generally reserved for completed actions or states that have resulted from hiding, while “hide” functions as the present-tense verb. The word can suggest deliberate concealment and may therefore carry a slightly dramatic or secretive tone, whether the hidden thing is physical, emotional, or informational.
Concealed or put out of sight; kept something secret from view or knowledge.
"The child hid the toy under the sofa."
This is the past tense and past participle of “hide.”
Concealed or out of sight, especially in literary or archaic use.
"The treasure lay in a hid chamber beneath the ruins."
This use is chiefly literary or archaic; “hidden” is the usual modern adjective.
The word “hid” is the past tense of “hide,” so it carries the image of something disappearing from sight.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hid come from?
“Hid” comes from the Old English verb “hīd(e)an,” meaning to conceal or put out of sight. Its modern past tense and past participle have the short vowel of “hid,” while the base form “hide” has the long vowel of “hīd.” The related adjective “hidden” developed from the same Germanic root, and “hide” remains the base form in present-day English.
Related word forms
How hid is actually used
In standard modern English, “hid” is normally used as the past tense or past participle of “hide.” The form is often seen in narrative and literary contexts, while “hide” is the form used for the present tense.
Easily confused with hid
“Hide” is the base verb meaning to conceal or put out of sight, while “hid” is its past tense and past participle, as in “The child hid beneath the table.”