ho

¹

[hoh]

interjection

1. (used as a call to attract attention, sometimes specially used after a word denoting a destination).

   Westward ho! Land ho!

2. (used as an exclamation of surprise or delight.)

ho

²

[hoh]

interjection

1. (used as a command to a horse to stop.)

ho

³

Or hoe

[hoh]

noun

Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.

plural

hos, hoes, ho's. 

1. a sexually promiscuous woman.

2. a prostitute; whore.

3. a woman.

Ho

⁴

Symbol, Chemistry.

1. holmium.

HO

⁵

[hoh]

noun

1. (in police use) habitual offender.

ho.

⁶

abbreviation

1. house.

H.O.

⁷

abbreviation

1. Head Office; Home Office.

HO

¹

abbreviation

1. head office

2. government Home Office

ho

²

/ həʊ /

interjection

1. Also: ho-ho. an imitation or representation of the sound of a deep laugh

2. an exclamation used to attract attention, announce a destination, etc

   what ho!

   land ho!

   westward ho!

Ho

³

symbol

1. holmium

ho

⁴

/ həʊ /

noun

1. slang:Black,  a derogatory term for a woman

ho.

⁵

abbreviation

1. house

Word History and Origins

Origin of HO¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English; a natural exclamation

Origin of HO²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English ho, who, from Old French ho, and Old Norse hō; whoa

Origin of HO³

First recorded in 1965–70; dialectal or African American Vernacular English pronunciation of whore

Word History and Origins

Origin of HO¹

C13: of imitative origin; compare Old Norse hó, Old French ho! halt!

Origin of HO²

C20: from Black or Southern US pronunciation of _whore

Example Sentences

Past highlights of the festival include “Parasite” filmmaker Bong Joon Ho spiking a beach ball into the audience or Arnold Schwarzenegger arm-wrestling a 9-year-old boy, outrageous moments that won’t happen anywhere else.

From Los Angeles Times

Thien Ho said he believed the “C.K.” portion of the note was a reference to Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was killed by a sniper in Utah earlier this month.

From Los Angeles Times

Hernandez-Santana was a retired lobbyist, according to Ho, who said the shooting was clearly “politically motivated.”

From Los Angeles Times

The day of the shooting, Ho said, a protest was scheduled to take place outside of ABC10’s offices over their parent company’s decision to suspend late night host Jimmy Kimmell over comments he made about the way Republicans have reacted to Kirk’s killing.

From Los Angeles Times

Ho said it was clear the TV station was not a “random target.”

From Los Angeles Times

When To Use

What does ho mean?

Not to be confused with hoe (the gardening tool), a ho is an offensive term for a sex worker or a promiscuous woman. Some people use the term to insult women in general while some women have reclaimed the term.What are other forms of ho?hoe