ahoy

[ uh-hoi ]

/ əˈhɔɪ /

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interjection Nautical.

(used as a call to hail another ship, attract attention, etc.)

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of ahoy

1745–55; variant of hoy². Cf. aha, ahem

Words nearby ahoy

aholt, Ahom, A horizon, ahorse, horse of a different color, a, ahoy, AHQ, AHRA, Ahriman, AHSA, Ahtisaari

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ahoy in a sentence

He told Bill to hail, which was done with a truly sailor-like “Ahoy!”
Radio Boys Loyalty|Wayne Whipple
But their wonderings were soon set at rest by the boatswain's call of "All hands, make sail, ahoy!"
Down the Rhine|Oliver Optic
Ahoy, vere is dot Yack vot vants to go midt us py der Somprero Lighdt?
The Ocean Wireless Boys and the Lost Liner|Wilbur Lawton
When we got on deck the man at the wheel struck eight bells (four o'clock in the morning), and "All starbowlines, ahoy!"
The Best of the World's Classics, Restricted to Prose, Vol. X (of X) - America - II, Index|Various

One after the other the two boatmen continued to shout, 'Ship ahoy!'
My Danish Sweetheart., Volume 2 of 3|William Clark Russell

British Dictionary definitions for ahoy

ahoy

/ (əˈhɔɪ) /

interjection

nautical a hail used to call a ship or to attract attention

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ahoy

Origin of ahoy

Words nearby ahoy

Words related to ahoy

How to use ahoy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for ahoy