English

Verb

herding

1. present participle of herd

Noun

herding ‎(plural herdings)

1. An act by which individuals are herded.
   • 2010, Inga Clendinnen, Reading the Holocaust

     These herdings and stabbings and stranglings occurred five hundred years ago, before America felt the withering touch of Europe. Does that exclude them from our concern?

2. A hirsel.
   • 1930, Scottish Agriculture

     The whole flock is divided up into seven herdings (the equivalent of the Scottish "hirsels"), and it is through the head shepherd's herding that the only new blood is introduced. Every two or three years some rams are bought at Hawick […]

3. Manipulation of poll results by a polling organization so that they match those produced from other organizations.
   • 2015 June 24, Dan Hodges, “Why did the polls get it wrong at the general election? Because they lied”, in The Telegraph:

     It’s what known in the polling industry as “herding”. And herding, not to put too fine a point on it, is when pollsters cheat. Each polling company knows that however accurate their results are, they will ultimately only be judged on one poll. The final poll before the election.

   • 2016, Russell K. Schutt, Understanding the Social World: Research Methods for the 21st Century:

     Some observers are concerned also that polling firms “play it safe” by trying to ensure that their own results don't differ too much from the findings of other firms. This practice has been called “herding.”

   • 2016, David M. Newman, Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life:

     Pollsters often engage in a practice known as “herding,” which refers to the tendency to announce results similar to those other organizations have already published.