hoover

¹

[ hoo-ver ]

verb (used with object)

, (often initial capital letter)

1. to clean with a vacuum cleaner.

Hoover

²

[ hoo-ver ]

noun

1. Herbert (Clark), 1874–1964, 31st president of the U.S. 1929–33.
2. J(ohn) Edgar, 1895–1972, U.S. government official: director of the FBI 1924–72.
3. Lou Henry, 1874–1944, U.S. First Lady 1929–33 (wife of Herbert Hoover).
4. a town in N central Alabama.

Hoover

¹

/ ˈhuːvə /

noun

1. a type of vacuum cleaner

verb

1. to vacuum-clean (a carpet, furniture, etc)
2. troften foll byup to consume or dispose of (something) quickly and completely

   he hoovered up his grilled fish

Hoover

²

/ ˈhuːvə /

noun

1. HooverHerbert (Clark)18741964MUSPOLITICS: statesmanPOLITICS: head of state Herbert ( Clark ). 1874–1964, US statesman; 31st president of the US (1929–33). He organized relief for Europe during and after World War I, but as president he lost favour after his failure to alleviate the effects of the Depression
2. HooverJ(ohn) Edgar18951972MUSLAW: lawyerPOLITICS: public servant J ( ohn ) Edgar. 1895–1972, US lawyer: director of the FBI (1924–72). He used new scientific methods to combat crime, including the first fingerprint file

Word History and Origins

Origin of hoover¹

First recorded in 1925–30; after the trademark of a vacuum cleaner manufacturer

Example Sentences

We live in a world where a J. Edgar Hoover biopic got made before a Martin Luther King Jr. one.

From The Daily Beast

Such was the corrosive paranoia of the time, fueled by McCarthy and abetted by Hoover.

From The Daily Beast

The world in which a J. Edgar Hoover movie exists before an MLK movie is utterly bizarre to me.

From The Daily Beast

Two years later, Kansas helped oust Curtis—and Hoover—by voting for Franklin Roosevelt and re-electing McGill.

From The Daily Beast

Later, the White House passed from McKinley to Theodore Roosevelt to Taft, and then from Harding to Coolidge to Hoover.

From The Daily Beast

Men of the stamp of Herbert Hoover have demonstrated the very great need for men of scientific training in public affairs.

From Project Gutenberg

The first problem young Hoover had to solve at college, however, was the way of meeting his living expenses.

From Project Gutenberg

The first thing you think about Hoover, said a man who knew him in college, is that he is a free soul and feels himself free.

From Project Gutenberg

Well, replied Mr. Hoover, with some hesitation, you see it wasnt a particularly easy job.

From Project Gutenberg

I have managed to get all these things, Hoover interposed, and am now through with them all except the steamers.

From Project Gutenberg