definitions

hooch

1

or hootch

[ hooch ]
/ hutʃ /
|
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noun Slang.

alcoholic liquor.
liquor illicitly distilled and distributed.

RELATED WORDS

alcohol, drink, liquor, Scotch, distillery, bourbon, bootleg, firewater, rotgut, sauce, cocktail, hootch, moonshine, distiller, corn, rye, poteen, moonshiner, distill, usquebaugh

Nearby words

honours of war, hons, honshu, hoo, hoo-ha, hooch, hooch, pieter de, hoochinoo, hoochy koochy, hood, hood molding

Origin of hooch

1
First recorded in 1895–1900; shortening of hoochinoo

Definition for hooch (2 of 3)

hooch

2

or hootch

[ hooch ]
/ hutʃ /

noun Military Slang.

a thatched hut of southeast Asia.
any living quarters, as a barracks.
(especially during the Korean War)
  1. a prostitute's dwelling.
  2. any place, as a house, room, or shack, where a serviceman sets up housekeeping with a local woman.
Also hooch·ie [hoo-chee] /ˈhu tʃi/.

Origin of hooch

2
1950–55 probably < Japanese uchi house (by back formation, construing -i as -y2); initial h perhaps by association with hut or < Ryukyuan dial. form of uchi with prothetic h-

Definition for hooch (3 of 3)

Hooch

[ hooch; Dutch hohkh ]
/ hutʃ; Dutch hoʊx /

noun

Pie·ter de [pee-ter duh; Dutch pee-tuh r duh] /ˈpi tər də; Dutch ˈpi tər də/, 1629?–88?, Dutch painter.
Also Hoogh.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hooch

British Dictionary definitions for hooch (1 of 2)

hooch

hootch

/ (huːtʃ) /

noun

informal, mainly US and Canadian alcoholic drink, esp illicitly distilled spirits

Word Origin for hooch

C20: shortened from Tlingit Hootchinoo, name of a tribe that distilled a type of liquor

British Dictionary definitions for hooch (2 of 2)

Hooch

Hoogh

/ (huːtʃ, Dutch hoːx) /

noun

Pieter de (ˈpiːtər də). 1629–?1684, Dutch genre painter, noted esp for his light effects
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 hooch

hooch

n.

also hootch, "cheap whiskey," 1897, shortened form of Hoochinoo (1877) "liquor made by Alaskan Indians," from the name of a native tribe in Alaska whose distilled liquor was a favorite with miners in 1898 Klondike gold rush; the tribe's name is said by OED to be from Tlingit Hutsnuwu, literally "grizzly bear fort."

As the supply of whisky was very limited, and the throats down which it was poured were innumerable, it was found necessary to create some sort of a supply to meet the demand. This concoction was known as "hooch"; and disgusting as it is, it is doubtful if it is much more poisonous than the whisky itself. [M.H.E. Hayne, "The Pioneers of the Klondyke," London, 1897]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper