hood
noun
a soft or flexible covering for the head and neck, either separate or attached to a cloak, coat, or the like.
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hood
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'hood
'hoodnouna neighborhood, especially an urban neighborhood inhabited predominantly by African Americans of low socioeconomic status.
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Hood
HoodnounJohn Bell, 1831–79, Confederate general in the U.S. Civil War.
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-hood
-hooda 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 .
hood
1 American
[hood]
/ hʊd /
noun
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a soft or flexible covering for the head and neck, either separate or attached to a cloak, coat, or the like.
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something resembling or suggesting such a covering, especially in shape, as certain petals or sepals.
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the hinged, movable part of an automobile body covering the engine.
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British. the roof of a carriage.
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a metal cover or canopy for a stove, ventilator, etc.
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Falconry. a cover for the entire head of a hawk, used when the bird is not in pursuit of game.
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an ornamental ruffle or fold on the back of the shoulders of an academic gown, jurist's robe, etc.
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a crest or band of color on the head of certain birds and animals.
verb (used with object)
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hoods,
present (3rd person singular)
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hooded,
past participle, past
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hooding
present participle
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to furnish with a hood.
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to cover with or as if with a hood.
hood
2
American
[hood, hood]
/ hʊd, hud /
noun
Slang.
'hood
3
American
[hood]
/ hʊd /
Or
hood
noun
Slang.
Hood
4
American
[hood]
/ hʊd /
noun
-
John Bell, 1831–79, Confederate general in the U.S. Civil War.
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Raymond Mathewson 1881–1934, U.S. architect.
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Robin. Robin Hood.
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Thomas, 1799–1845, English poet and humorist.
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Mount, a volcanic peak in N Oregon, in the Cascade Range. 11,253 feet (3,430 meters).
-hood
5
American
hood
1
British
/ hʊd /
noun
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a loose head covering either attached to a cloak or coat or made as a separate garment
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something resembling this in shape or use
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the US and Canadian name for bonnet
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the folding roof of a convertible car
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a hoodlike garment worn over an academic gown, indicating its wearer's degree and university
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falconry a close-fitting cover, placed over the head and eyes of a falcon to keep it quiet when not hunting
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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
verb
Hood
2
British
/ hʊd /
noun
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See Robin Hood
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Samuel, 1st Viscount. 1724–1816, British admiral. He fought successfully against the French during the American Revolution and the French Revolutionary Wars
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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)
-hood
3
British
suffix
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indicating state or condition of being
manhood
adulthood
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indicating a body of persons
knighthood
priesthood
'hood
4
British
/ hʊd /
noun
hood
5
British
/ hʊd /
noun
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hoodsimple
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hoodssimple
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have hoodedperfect
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has hoodedperfect
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am hoodingprogressive
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are hoodingprogressive
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is hoodingprogressive
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have been hoodingperfect progressive
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has been hoodingperfect progressive
Past
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hoodedsimple
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had hoodedperfect
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was hoodingprogressive
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were hoodingprogressive
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had been hoodingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
A hood is a protective covering. It could be a car hood protecting the engine or your car or it could be the hood on your coat protecting your noggin. Your favorite sweatshirt might have a hood, as well as your fur-lined winter coat and your insulated hood for scuba diving. Other things with a similar protective quality are also called hoods, like the metal vent cover over your stove, the cover on your car's engine, and the cap-like plant sections that cover vulnerable parts. One of the most famous hoods in literature is the red one worn by the main character in "Little Red Riding Hood."
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:
“It’ll be slick as a car hood from the slime on their bellies,” Walters says.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
She first took off the hood to reveal her hair and headband, then removed the gown to play in a black tank top and metallic tennis skirt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
"I loved the way he moved and I loved the outfit with the big jackets and hood," he says.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
Most car buyers don’t sweat over how many cylinders are under the hood, said industry consultant Dan Nicholson, a former vice president at General Motors.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
It stopped just beside Aunt Hila, and only then did it pull back the hood....
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
As an actor, writer and director, he became a powerful figure in the British film industry for making movies including the 'hood series - Kidulthood, Adulthood and Brotherhood.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025
And World on Wheels, at that time, was in the ’hood so they weren’t necessarily skating during the regular skating hours.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 16, 2025
"They Cloned Tyrone," directed and co-written by Juel Taylor, is a futuristic 'hood mystery based around a white and white-adjacent corporate agenda to control the Black community through fried chicken, drugs and perms.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2023
“The paranoia that comes from being in the ‘hood, it makes you operate in a certain way.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 15, 2023
We did a lot of investigating around the ’hood, trying to find out about Eric, Derrick, Johnny, and Tyrone.
From "Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago" by LeAlan Jones
“We still had quite a bit of beach out there then, so it didn’t reach the boardwalk,” said Hood, 70.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Almost 100 municipalities in the U.S. have ended their Flock contracts in response to public outcry, including several in Texas, such as Bandera and Hood County.
From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2026
Mr. Hood is a senior fellow at Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East and a former U.S. diplomat with multiple postings in the Persian Gulf.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
The U.S. military has grounded its Apache helicopters after two soldiers were killed near Fort Hood, Texas.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
He sold everything they owned, including their house and their vacation cabin on Mount Hood.
From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith
When joined together, the h- of the -hood is put in immediate apposition with the s of the monks-.
From A Handbook of the English Language by R. G. (Robert Gordon) Latham
A resident told UK media she had alerted emergency services after seeing three vans blocking a road near the village and a group of men wearing hoods and balaclavas.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
Both kept their hoods up throughout proceedings and their faces covered by masks so large only their eyes were still visible.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
The thin aluminum sheets produced at the plant are later stamped into fenders, hoods and other exterior vehicle parts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Chief Executive Mary Barra’s first job as a co-op student was inspecting Pontiac hoods and fenders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026
They turned their faces away from the wind, holding on to the hoods of their parkas.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
A unnamed resident of Whelford told the PA news agency she called police after she saw three vans "blocking the road" and a "large group of hooded and 'balaclava'd' men".
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
Osaka took the court wearing a long, hooded gown — possibly inspired by Iverson’s hoodies and baggy clothes from back in the day — with newspaper clippings about her attached to it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
But merging in along the route were sections of masked, hooded invidividuals, many dressed all in in black.
From Barron's ● Jun. 14, 2026
His press conferences are almost theatrically placid, Brunson often slouched in a hat and/or hooded sweatshirt and deflecting any effort to valorize his success.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
But Harry was afraid: The hooded Death Eater had shouted “It’s the real one!”; how had he known?
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
“I never thought I would get plastic surgery,” said Caruso, who opted in after noticing that her eyeliner no longer showed up on her eyes due to hooding.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 1, 2026
Zhang, an award-winning author of “How Much of These Hills Is Gold” and “Land of Milk and Honey,” was scheduled to speak at the May 8 education school doctoral hooding ceremony.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2024
She attended a Baptist pastor’s hooding ceremony, a public event for a Japanese sister city, and a luau held by a local nonprofit’s C.E.O.
From The New Yorker ● Aug. 12, 2019
I decided to order the cessation of all hooding as it had become particularly emotive in light of the death of Baha Mousa.
From BBC ● May 18, 2010
At her glance the overseer blinked quickly, then composed himself, his lids hooding his little dark eyes, his rosebud mouth tightening to a slit.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
