Learn Hardcore Russian: Хоть мы и устали, мы всё равно помогли фермеру принести воду в конюшню. - Although we were tired, we still helped the farmer bring water to the stable.

Breakdown of Хоть мы и устали, мы всё равно помогли фермеру принести воду в конюшню.

What does хоть mean here? I thought it often meant at least.

In this sentence, хоть means although / even though, not at least.

So:

This is a very common use of хоть in conversational Russian. A slightly more neutral or formal version is хотя:

Both are correct here. Хоть often sounds a bit more colloquial.

Why is there an и in Хоть мы и устали? It does not seem to mean and.

Here, и is not the normal and. It is a particle used in the pattern:

This pattern strengthens the idea of concession: although / even though.

So:

The и is very common in this structure, though Russian can sometimes omit it:

Both are possible, but the version with и is very natural.