hoot
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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hoots,
present (3rd person singular)
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hooted,
past participle, past
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hooting
present participle
verb (used with object)
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hoots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hooted,
past participle, past
-
hooting
present participle
noun
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hoots
plural
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the cry of an owl.
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any similar sound, as an inarticulate shout.
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a cry or shout, especially of disapproval or derision.
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British. a horn, siren, or whistle, especially a factory whistle.
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Informal. the least bit of concern, interest, or thought; trifle.
His religion doesn't matter a hoot to me.
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Slang. an extremely funny person, situation, or event.
Your cousin is such a hoot!
idioms
interjection
noun
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the mournful wavering cry of some owls
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a similar sound, such as that of a train whistle
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a jeer of derision
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informal an amusing person or thing
the weekend was a hoot
-
not to care at all
verb
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(often foll by at) to jeer or yell (something) contemptuously (at someone)
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(tr) to drive (political speakers, actors on stage, etc) off or away by hooting
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(intr) to make a hoot
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(intr) to blow a horn
interjection
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hootsimple
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hootssimple
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have hootedperfect
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has hootedperfect
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am hootingprogressive
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are hootingprogressive
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is hootingprogressive
-
have been hootingperfect progressive
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has been hootingperfect progressive
Past
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hootedsimple
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had hootedperfect
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was hootingprogressive
-
were hootingprogressive
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had been hootingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hoot1
First recorded in 1200–1250; Middle English verb houten, whoten; imitative of the sound
Origin of hoot2
First recorded in 1600–10; hoot 1 ( def. ) (in the sense “shout of disapproval or derision”)
Explanation
A hoot is the musical call an owl makes. The hoot of an owl sounds very much like the word hoot. An owl's hoot is the inspiration for a similar sound that people make to show disapproval or scorn: "The sound of the crowd's hoots filled the stadium when the soccer player kicked the ball into his own team's goal." To make this sound, whether you're a person or an owl, is to hoot, and if you don't give a hoot, it means you really don't care at all.
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:
Most voters don’t give a hoot about which candidate is more of a socialist or a moderate.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
While throwing, the chimpanzees pant hoot — a loud, long-distance communicative signal — and sometimes repeatedly hit their hands and feet on the tree in a behavior called buttress drumming.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
Former talk-show host Winfrey wrote that one of her fondest memories with Parton was "having a hoot and a holler while wearing Bob Mackie gowns on her show Dolly".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Crowds hoot and cheer as the contraptions float into the darkening sky, while referees judge the magnificence of their aerial explosions.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025
Not a man in town thought it mattered a hoot about women voting, and only two ladies went to the first women’s suffrage meeting Miss Love set up.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
The depictions of Ruth’s uptight and stingy brother Hyacinth and jealous and mother-in-law from hell “old Mrs. Hall” are both hoots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
But us football fans must recognize that not everyone hoots and hollers for the conversion on a long third down or a legendary pick six.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2025
"The captain stopped at the locations and give four or five hoots of the siren," he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2025
All week I’d reveled in the cackles of leaf monkeys, hoots of gibbons, and barks of macaques, plus choruses of birds and frogs—all backed by the hums and whines of insects.
From National Geographic ● Jan. 23, 2024
“I am glad the hoots will still do.”
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
A barred owl hooted and shook its feathers in a sycamore above the creek, and red-bellied cooters sunned themselves on half-submerged logs.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2026
Had she addressed me, I probably would have hooted in response.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2025
Every time they hooted or interrupted, he gave as good as he got, mocking their points and challenging them to pass important legislation.
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
The crowd in New Hampshire cheered wildly as Trump came onstage and hooted warmly at some of his standard campaign lines.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 17, 2024
The women clapped and hooted when Jaja and I said, “Nno nu.”
From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Pant hooting and buttress drumming are both part of the male chimpanzee display, suggesting that accumulative stone throwing might represent a modification of this common behavior.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
A crowd came out waving blue and yellow national flags, cheering as the buses carrying the freed men passed hooting their horns.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2025
The owl spent his days perched on tree branches, fence posts and fire escapes and nights hooting atop water towers and preying on the city’s abundant rats.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 24, 2024
Millions of folks sat down with Williams every day for more than 14 years, hooting and hissing as she spilled the tea as if she were in their living rooms with them.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2024
She cupped her hands around her mouth and made a hooting noise.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
