honk

[hongk, hawngk]

noun

the cry of a goose.

any similar sound, as of an automobile horn.

verb (used without object)

to emit a honk.

to cause an automobile horn to sound: He drove up in front of the house and honked.

verb (used with object)

to cause (an automobile horn) to sound: The driver honked his horn impatiently.

Origin of honk

An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; imitative

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

Related Words for honking

beep, blare, sound, blast, blow, tootle

Examples from the Web for honking

Contemporary Examples of honking

If a goal is scored, the streets reverberate with cheers and honking horns.
England Eliminated From World Cup 2014: The ‘Years of Hurt’ Continue
Tim Teeman
June 20, 2014
Honking horns in a mall parking lot as we search for the last available spot.
The True Gifts of Christmas Are Life, Love, and the Mystery of God
Joshua DuBois
December 25, 2013
Oh, and there was this big, honking WAR in there, where we picked up all those refugees from Europe.
The Heritage Immigration Study, Ctd.
Justin Green
May 7, 2013
He believed students were taunting him, driving by his home at all hours of the night and honking a car horn.
The Professor and the Doomsday Clock: ‘A Confederacy of Dunces’ & Signs of John Kennedy Toole’s Suicide
Cory MacLauchlin
December 17, 2012
People took to the darkened streets for the first time in weeks, honking horns and hooting.
Israel and Hamas Strike Peace Deal
Dan Ephron
November 21, 2012

Historical Examples of honking

Here was the poet, disturbed by the honking hustle of passing cars.
Free Air
Sinclair Lewis
Motors were flashing and honking below and over on Fifth Avenue.
Black Oxen
Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
They heard it in the honking of the first flock of wild geese.
Johnny Longbow
Roy J. Snell
Once they raced for a few miles with a honking wedge of wild geese.
White Fire
Roy J. Snell
A honking, a shout, the motor engine raced before it was shut off.
Main Street
Sinclair Lewis

British Dictionary definitions for honking

honk

noun

a representation of the sound made by a goose

any sound resembling this, esp a motor horn

British and Australian slang a bad smell

verb

to make or cause (something) to make such a sound

(intr) British a slang word for vomit

British and Australian slang to have a bad smell

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 honking

honk

cry of a goose, 1814, American English, imitative. As a verb by 1854, of geese; the sense of "sound a horn," especially on an automobile, first recorded 1895 in American English. Related: Honked; honking.