hood
noun
a soft or flexible covering for the head and neck, either separate or attached to a cloak, coat, or the like.
Jump To:
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hood
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'hood
'hoodnouna neighborhood, especially an urban neighborhood inhabited predominantly by African Americans of low socioeconomic status.
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Hood
HoodnounJohn Bell, 1831–79, Confederate general in the U.S. Civil War.
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-hood
-hooda native English suffix denoting state, condition, character, nature, etc., or a body of persons of a particular character or class, formerly used in the formation of nouns: childhood; likelihood; knighthood; priesthood .
hood
1 American
[hood]
/ hʊd /
noun
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a soft or flexible covering for the head and neck, either separate or attached to a cloak, coat, or the like.
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something resembling or suggesting such a covering, especially in shape, as certain petals or sepals.
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the hinged, movable part of an automobile body covering the engine.
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British. the roof of a carriage.
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a metal cover or canopy for a stove, ventilator, etc.
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Falconry. a cover for the entire head of a hawk, used when the bird is not in pursuit of game.
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an ornamental ruffle or fold on the back of the shoulders of an academic gown, jurist's robe, etc.
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a crest or band of color on the head of certain birds and animals.
verb (used with object)
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hoods,
present (3rd person singular)
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hooded,
past participle, past
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hooding
present participle
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to furnish with a hood.
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to cover with or as if with a hood.
hood
2
American
[hood, hood]
/ hʊd, hud /
noun
Slang.
'hood
3
American
[hood]
/ hʊd /
Or
hood
noun
Slang.
Hood
4
American
[hood]
/ hʊd /
noun
-
John Bell, 1831–79, Confederate general in the U.S. Civil War.
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Raymond Mathewson 1881–1934, U.S. architect.
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Robin. Robin Hood.
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Thomas, 1799–1845, English poet and humorist.
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Mount, a volcanic peak in N Oregon, in the Cascade Range. 11,253 feet (3,430 meters).
-hood
5
American
hood
1
British
/ hʊd /
noun
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a loose head covering either attached to a cloak or coat or made as a separate garment
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something resembling this in shape or use
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the US and Canadian name for bonnet
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the folding roof of a convertible car
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a hoodlike garment worn over an academic gown, indicating its wearer's degree and university
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falconry a close-fitting cover, placed over the head and eyes of a falcon to keep it quiet when not hunting
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biology a structure or marking, such as the fold of skin on the head of a cobra, that covers or appears to cover the head or some similar part
verb
Hood
2
British
/ hʊd /
noun
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See Robin Hood
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Samuel, 1st Viscount. 1724–1816, British admiral. He fought successfully against the French during the American Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars
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Thomas. 1799–1845, British poet and humorist: his work includes protest poetry, such as The Song of the Shirt (1843) and The Bridge of Sighs (1844)
-hood
3
British
suffix
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indicating state or condition of being
manhood
adulthood
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indicating a body of persons
knighthood
priesthood
'hood
4
British
/ hʊd /
noun
hood
5
British
/ hʊd /
noun
Usage
What does -hood mean? The suffix -hood is used to indicate “a state of being” or "a group of a particular characteristic or class." It is often used in a variety of technical and everyday terms. The form -hood comes from Old English hād, meaning “condition” or “rank.” Similar suffixes in Latin include -itās and -tūdō, both of which indicate a state of being and are the sources of the English suffixes -ity and -tude. Check out our entries for both suffixes to learn how frequently they appear.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hoodsimple
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hoodssimple
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have hoodedperfect
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has hoodedperfect
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am hoodingprogressive
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are hoodingprogressive
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is hoodingprogressive
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have been hoodingperfect progressive
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has been hoodingperfect progressive
Past
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hoodedsimple
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had hoodedperfect
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was hoodingprogressive
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were hoodingprogressive
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had been hoodingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hood1
First recorded before 900, in 1925–30 hood 1 for def. 3 (an Americanism); Middle English hode, Old English hōd; cognate with Old Frisian hōde, Dutch hoed, German Hut hat
Origin of hood2
First recorded in 1925–30; by shortening
Origin of 'hood3
First recorded in 1965–70; African American Vernacular English; by shortening
Origin of -hood5
Middle English -hode, -hod, Old English -hād (cognate with German -heit ), special use of hād condition, state, order, quality, rank
Explanation
A hood is a protective covering. It could be a car hood protecting the engine or your car or it could be the hood on your coat protecting your noggin. Your favorite sweatshirt might have a hood, as well as your fur-lined winter coat and your insulated hood for scuba diving. Other things with a similar protective quality are also called hoods, like the metal vent cover over your stove, the cover on your car's engine, and the cap-like plant sections that cover vulnerable parts. One of the most famous hoods in literature is the red one worn by the main character in "Little Red Riding Hood."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Ultimately, these studies give us a glimpse under the hood of how these cells make decisions," she said.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026
"I loved the way he moved and I loved the outfit with the big jackets and hood," he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
The movie ends with Ricky Bobby speeding in a car without sponsors, a massive “ME” splashed on the hood.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
She works mostly under a hood, which vents the chemical and fecal fumes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Her hair was gray, sticking out in strings from under her hood.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
“So your best friends are Black and you live in the ‘hood.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026
As an actor, writer and director, he became a powerful figure in the British film industry for making movies including the 'hood series - Kidulthood, Adulthood and Brotherhood.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025
“I’m not even in the ghetto. I’m not in the ‘hood.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 27, 2023
“We’re spoiled in our ’hood for sure,” he says of all White Center’s food offerings.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 27, 2023
“How you gonna live in a ’hood but be afraid to come to another ’hood?” she asks.
From "Piecing Me Together" by Renée Watson
The Death of Robin Hood was released in the UK on 2 September.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
The U.S. military has grounded its Apache helicopters after two soldiers were killed near Fort Hood, Texas.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
Petrie-Morris announced that Fairground’s first products would riff on beloved public domain characters—Robin Hood, etc.—and then hopefully earn access to established IP through studio partnerships.
From Slate ● Aug. 16, 2026
During the exercise, called Combined Resolve, Ukrainian drone units easily spotted and defeated U.S. troops and armored vehicles on rotation from Fort Hood in Texas, according to people familiar with the events.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Phillip, closest to the Hood, looked over to Jack, then nodded.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
When joined together, the h- of the -hood is put in immediate apposition with the s of the monks-.
From A Handbook of the English Language by R. G. (Robert Gordon) Latham
From where he lives on the road opposite, Ray Thompson could see "youngsters standing there with hoods on and covering their faces".
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
I stuck to slapping the hoods and windows of so many cars that my hand turned black with soot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Companies that buy aluminum to make everything from soda cans to car hoods have been feeling the pain of more expensive aluminum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 2, 2026
Police officers wore hoods and were heavily armed.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2025
Just then, two other men stepped away from the fire and took off their hoods.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
But merging in along the route were sections of masked, hooded invidividuals, many dressed all in in black.
From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026
His press conferences are almost theatrically placid, Brunson often slouched in a hat and/or hooded sweatshirt and deflecting any effort to valorize his success.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Shafer noticed he could wear a T-shirt while pruning trees instead of the usual hooded sweatshirt and knitted hat.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 19, 2026
Walking down a makeshift runway in a top-floor studio, a model pulls on a translucent, hooded jacket embedded with LED lights.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026
In the light of my headlamp I saw that his hooded face was a ghostly white.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
Their accounts echo those of the Negra Francisca crew: cuffing and hooding by armed English-speakers before being turned over to a Salvadoran patrol craft, which took them to El Salvador.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
“I never thought I would get plastic surgery,” said Caruso, who opted in after noticing that her eyeliner no longer showed up on her eyes due to hooding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
She attended a Baptist pastor’s hooding ceremony, a public event for a Japanese sister city, and a luau held by a local nonprofit’s C.E.O.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 12, 2019
Horrified Sir John told the inquiry he had not been aware of the ruling by former Prime Minister Edward Heath in 1972 outlawing hooding.
From BBC ● May 18, 2010
Gollum blinked, hooding the malice of his eyes with their heavy pale lids.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
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.
