hood

¹ American  

[hood] / hʊd /

noun

1. a soft or flexible covering for the head and neck, either separate or attached to a cloak, coat, or the like.

2. something resembling or suggesting such a covering, especially in shape, as certain petals or sepals.

3. the hinged, movable part of an automobile body covering the engine.

4. British. the roof of a carriage.

5. a metal cover or canopy for a stove, ventilator, etc.

6. Falconry. a cover for the entire head of a hawk, used when the bird is not in pursuit of game.

7. an ornamental ruffle or fold on the back of the shoulders of an academic gown, jurist's robe, etc.

8. a crest or band of color on the head of certain birds and animals.

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verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with a hood.

2. to cover with or as if with a hood.

hood ² American  

[hood, hood] / hʊd, hud /

noun

Slang.

1. a hoodlum.

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'hood ³ American  

[hood] / hʊd /

Or hood

noun

Slang.

1. a neighborhood, especially an urban neighborhood inhabited predominantly by African Americans of low socioeconomic status.

   It’s hard for these kids to break the cycle of poverty and get out of the 'hood.

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Hood ⁴ American  

[hood] / hʊd /

noun

1. John Bell, 1831–79, Confederate general in the U.S. Civil War.

2. Raymond Mathewson 1881–1934, U.S. architect.

3. Robin. Robin Hood.

4. Thomas, 1799–1845, English poet and humorist.

5. Mount, a volcanic peak in N Oregon, in the Cascade Range. 11,253 feet (3,430 meters).

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-hood ⁵ American  

1. a 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 .

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hood ¹ British  

/ hʊd /

noun

1. a loose head covering either attached to a cloak or coat or made as a separate garment

2. something resembling this in shape or use

3. the US and Canadian name for bonnet

4. the folding roof of a convertible car

5. a hoodlike garment worn over an academic gown, indicating its wearer's degree and university

6. falconry a close-fitting cover, placed over the head and eyes of a falcon to keep it quiet when not hunting

7. 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

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verb

1. (tr) to cover or provide with or as if with a hood

Hood ² British  

/ hʊd /

noun

1. See Robin Hood

2. Samuel, 1st Viscount. 1724–1816, British admiral. He fought successfully against the French during the American Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars

3. 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)

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-hood ³ British  

suffix

1. indicating state or condition of being

   manhood

   adulthood

2. indicating a body of persons

   knighthood

   priesthood

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'hood ⁴ British  

/ hʊd /

noun

1. slang short for neighbourhood

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hood ⁵ British  

/ hʊd /

noun

1. slang short for hoodlum

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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

• hoodless adjective
• hoodlike adjective

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

Example Sentences

In this case, Ford’s rivals didn’t have to poke around under the hood to find its latest hack.

From The Wall Street Journal

The upper tends to address hooding and volume loss of the eyelid, while the lower focuses on puffiness and dark circles or hollowing under the eye, says Dr. Flora Levin, a Connecticut-based oculoplastic surgeon.

From The Wall Street Journal

The latter she built out as “my own Boss Hogg Cadillac” with horns on the hood, an allusion to the “The Dukes of Hazzard,” a late 1970s and early 1980s TV show.

From The Wall Street Journal

A custom metal hood by Practice Fabrication, powder-coated the color of a Pixie tangerine, adds a sense of fun.

From Los Angeles Times

Mr Clothier explains: "The methanogenic bacteria are gobbling up all the solids and generating loads of lovely methane, which we then catch in the hoods over the top."

From BBC

Related Words

• gangster
• goon
• hooligan
• punk
• tough
• tough guy