honk

[ hongk, hawngk ]
See synonyms for honk on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. the cry of a goose.

  2. any similar sound, as of an automobile horn.

verb (used without object)
  1. to emit a honk.

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

verb (used with object)
  1. to cause (an automobile horn) to sound: The driver honked his horn impatiently.

Origin of honk

1
An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; imitative

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use honk in a sentence

  • Once they raced for a few miles with a honking wedge of wild geese.

    White Fire | Roy J. Snell
  • I shouldn't wonder if we heard your car honking for you in half an hour.

    The Firefly Of France | Marion Polk Angellotti
  • He moved across the street and away, not bothering about the squeal of brakes and the honking horns.

    Badge of Infamy | Lester del Rey
  • You just know that the fairy godmother is waiting in the wings, and you can hear the great coach honking around the corner.

    Pieces of Hate | Heywood Broun
  • Wedges of wild geese winged their way southward through the trackless sky, making the nights vocal with their honking.

British Dictionary definitions for honk

honk

/ (hɒŋk) /


noun
  1. a representation of the sound made by a goose

  2. any sound resembling this, esp a motor horn

  1. British and Australian slang a bad smell

verb
  1. to make or cause (something) to make such a sound

  2. (intr) British a slang word for vomit

  1. 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