#initial-load-header-loader { visibility: hidden!important; } #initial-load-content { visibility: visible!important; } .expandable .expandable-control { display: none!important; } .expandable .expandable-content { display: block!important; visibility: visible!important; max-height: none!important; height: auto!important; }

hawk

¹

[hawk]

|

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hawk ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

any of numerous birds of prey of the family Accipitridae, having a short, hooked beak, broad wings, and curved talons, often seen circling or swooping at low altitudes.

any of several similar, unrelated birds, as the nighthawk.

Informal. a person who preys on others, as a sharper.

Also called war hawk. Informal. a person, especially one in public office, who advocates war or a belligerent national attitude.Compare dove¹(def 5).

any person who pursues an aggressive policy in business, government, etc.: The corporation is now run by a bunch of young hawks.

verb (used without object)

to fly, or hunt on the wing, like a hawk.

to hunt with hawks.

Origin of hawk

¹

before 900; Middle English hauk(e), Old English hafoc; cognate with Old Frisian havek, Old Saxon habuc Old High German habuh, Old Norse haukr hawk, perhaps Polish kobuz kind of falcon

Related formshawk·like, adjective

hawk

²

[hawk]

verb (used with object)

to peddle or offer for sale by calling aloud in public.

to advertise or offer for sale: to hawk soap on television.

to spread (rumors, news, etc.).

verb (used without object)

to carry wares about for sale; peddle.

Origin of hawk

²

First recorded in 1470–80; back formation from hawker²

hawk

³

[hawk]

verb (used without object)

to make an effort to raise phlegm from the throat; clear the throat noisily.

verb (used with object)

to raise by noisily clearing the throat: to hawk phlegm up.

noun

a noisy effort to clear the throat.

Origin of hawk

³

1575–85; imitative; see haw¹

hawk

⁴

[hawk]

noun

a small, square board with a handle underneath it, used by plasterers and masons to hold plaster or mortar being applied.

Origin of hawk

⁴

1350–1400; Middle English; perhaps variant of hache battle-ax (see hatchet)

Hawk

[hawk]

noun Military.

a medium-range, mobile U.S. surface-to-air missile system.

Origin of Hawk

H(oming) A(ll the) W(ay) K(iller)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hawk

chauvinist, belligerent, warmonger, jingoist, militarist, jingo

Examples from the Web for hawk

Contemporary Examples of hawk

The NSPG meeting defined the official line on the HAWK deal, but it did not address the funding diversion.
How the Reagan White House Bungled Its Response to Iran-Contra Revelations
Malcolm Byrne
November 3, 2014
Monk said to Hawk, 'You're the great Coleman Hawkins, right?
The Stacks: John Coltrane’s Mighty Musical Quest
Nat Hentoff
October 18, 2014
Christie was clearly what non-Southern high-end Republicans wanted--a hawk who kept his eye on the bond market.
2016 Just May Be the GOP Base’s Year
Lloyd Green
August 4, 2014
But the Hawk system, the official noted, is much more difficult to operate than the Russian Buk system.
MH17 Was Awful, but It’s Probably Unique
Dave Majumdar
July 21, 2014
At the same time, maybe she should hawk it up a little, especially if Rand Paul is the nominee.
Kudos to Hillary for Playing the Hitler Card
Michael Tomasky
March 7, 2014

Historical Examples of hawk

Then if they do not sell I will hawk them from door to door.
Ballads of a Bohemian
Robert W. Service
Come, man, you must be as hungry as a hawk—a slice of the beef?
Night and Morning, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
A hawk, driving down out of the blue, had barely missed him.
White Fang
Jack London
It was the same when he challenged the hawk down out of the sky.
White Fang
Jack London
Later, when he had grown more formidable, he wanted to eat the hawk.
White Fang
Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for hawk

hawk

¹

noun

any of various diurnal birds of prey of the family Accipitridae, such as the goshawk and Cooper's hawk, typically having short rounded wings and a long tailRelated adjective: accipitrine

US and Canadian any of various other falconiform birds, including the falcons but not the eagles or vultures

a person who advocates or supports war or warlike policiesCompare dove 1 (def. 2)

a ruthless or rapacious person

know a hawk from a handsaw to be able to judge things; be discerning

verb

(intr) to hunt with falcons, hawks, etc

(intr) (of falcons or hawks) to fly in quest of prey

to pursue or attack on the wing, as a hawk

Derived Formshawklike, adjective

Word Origin for hawk

from Shakespeare (Hamlet II:2:375); handsaw is probably a corruption of dialect heronshaw heron Old English hafoc; related to Old Norse haukr, Old Frisian havek, Old High German habuh, Polish kobuz

hawk

²

verb

to offer (goods) for sale, as in the street

(tr often foll by about) to spread (news, gossip, etc)

Word Origin for hawk

C16: back formation from hawker 1

hawk

³

verb

(intr) to clear the throat noisily

(tr) to force (phlegm) up from the throat

British a slang word for spit 1

noun

a noisy clearing of the throat

Word Origin for hawk

C16: of imitative origin; see haw ²

hawk

⁴

noun

a small square board with a handle underneath, used for carrying wet plaster or mortarAlso called: mortar board

Word Origin for hawk

of unknown origin

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

Word Origin and History for hawk

n.

c.1300, hauk, earlier havek (c.1200), from Old English hafoc (W. Saxon), heafuc (Mercian), heafoc, from Proto-Germanic *habukaz (cf. Old Norse haukr, Old Saxon habuc, Middle Dutch havik, Old High German habuh, German Habicht "hawk"), from a root meaning "to seize," from PIE *kap- "to grasp" (cf. Russian kobec "a kind of falcon;" see capable). Transferred sense of "militarist" attested from 1962.

v.1

"to sell in the open, peddle," late 15c., back-formation from hawker "itinerant vendor" (c.1400), from Middle Low German höken "to peddle, carry on the back, squat," from Proto-Germanic *huk-. Related: Hawked; hawking. Despite the etymological connection with stooping under a burden on one's back, a hawker is technically distinguished from a peddler by use of a horse and cart or a van.

v.2

"to hunt with a hawk," mid-14c., from hawk (n.).

v.3

"to clear one's throat," 1580s, imitative.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with hawk

hawk

see watch like a hawk.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.