cock-a-hoop
Americanadjective
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in a state of unrestrained joy or exultation; boastfully elated.
He was cock-a-hoop over his victory.
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askew; out of kilter.
He knocked his hat cock-a-hoop.
adjective
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in very high spirits
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boastful
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askew; confused
Etymology
Origin of cock-a-hoop
First recorded in 1520–30; origin uncertain
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.
Malem, himself originally from Lydd, said the celebrity had been "cock-a-hoop" with the outcome.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
As the Commons got underway at 11:30 BST, Speaker John Bercow remembers the opposition being "cock-a-hoop, celebratory and condemnatory of a government that had lost the court case".
From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2020
The Chinese media have been cock-a-hoop over pictures of American warships limping into port with apparently self-inflicted damage.
From Economist ● Aug. 24, 2017
“I wasn’t cock-a-hoop that I’d fooled them,” he says.
From The Guardian ● May 27, 2017
It's weeks and weeks since parson came an' put him through the mill; An' his mother's mighty vain upon the subjick of his weight, An' reg'lar cock-a-hoop about his sperritual state.
From The Coo-ee Reciter by Various
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.
