hooker

¹ American  

[hook-er] / ˈhʊk ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that hooks. hook.

2. Slang. prostitute.

3. Slang. a large drink of liquor.

4. Slang. a concealed problem, flaw, or drawback; a catch.

5. Rugby. a player who hooks the ball in the front line of scrummage.

6. (initial capital letter) a contemptuous term used to refer to an Amish Mennonite.

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hooker ² American  

[hook-er] / ˈhʊk ər /

noun

Nautical.

1. Slang. any old-fashioned or clumsy vessel.

2. any fishing vessel working with hooks and lines rather than nets.

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Hooker ³ American  

[hook-er] / ˈhʊk ər /

noun

1. Joseph, 1814–79, Union general in the U.S. Civil War.

2. Richard, 1554?–1600, English author and clergyman.

3. Thomas, 1586?–1647, English Puritan clergyman: one of the founders of the colony of Connecticut.

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hooker ¹ British  

/ ˈhʊkə /

noun

1. a person or thing that hooks

2. slang

   1. a draught of alcoholic drink, esp of spirits

   2. a prostitute

3. rugby the central forward in the front row of a scrum whose main job is to hook the ball

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Hooker ² British  

/ ˈhʊkə /

noun

1. John Lee. 1917–2001, US blues singer and guitarist

2. Sir Joseph Dalton. 1817–1911, British botanist; director of Kew Gardens (1865–85)

3. Richard. 1554–1600, British theologian, who influenced Anglican theology with The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity (1593–97)

4. Sir William Jackson. 1785–1865, British botanist; first director of Kew Gardens: father of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker

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hooker ³ British  

/ ˈhʊkə /

noun

1. a commercial fishing boat using hooks and lines instead of nets

2. a sailing boat of the west of Ireland formerly used for cargo and now for pleasure sailing and racing

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Sensitive Note

The Mennonites were irreverently spoken of as Hookers , because they used hooks and eyes on their clothes instead of buttons.

Etymology

Origin of hooker¹

First recorded in 1560–70; in 1835–45 hooker ¹ for def. 2, an Americanism; hook ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of hooker²

First recorded in 1635–45; from Dutch hoeker, equivalent to hoek hook ¹ + -er -er ¹

Example Sentences

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Glasgow Warriors hooker Seb Stephen has returned to his club after his first international call-up.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2026

Doak is set to win his first cap as scrum-half cover for Jamison Gibson-Park - who will make his 50th Ireland appearance - while hooker Stewart will make his Six Nations debut.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

England's line-out wobbled badly against the Irish, however, and hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie, another to be withdrawn before the interval, pays the price with Jamie George coming back into the starting line-up.

From BBC • Mar. 3, 2026

Ofa Tu'ungafasi moves to loosehead prop while Kurt Eklund comes in at hooker, and lock Sam Darry returns to the starting XV after missing last week's match following a head knock.

From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026

I was so mighty busy with this work, that if the vessel which had run the hooker down had come back to look for us I shouldn’t have seen her.

From Paddy Finn by Webb, Archibald

Related Words

• prostitute