hoodlum

[ hood-luhm, hood- ]
See synonyms for: hoodlumhoodlumshoodlumism on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a thug or gangster.

  2. a young street ruffian, especially one belonging to a gang.

Origin of hoodlum

1
1870–75, Americanism; probably <dialectal German; compare Swabian derivatives of Hudel rag, e.g. hudelum disorderly, hudellam weak, slack Hudellump(e) rags, slovenly, careless person, and related words in other dialects

Other words from hoodlum

  • hood·lum·ish, adjective
  • hood·lum·ism, noun

Words Nearby hoodlum

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

How to use hoodlum in a sentence

  • An egg-sized rock hit the truck behind him and bounced back, just as he spotted a hoodlum drawing back a sling for a second shot.

    Police Your Planet | Lester del Rey
  • Gordon got his head up just in time to see a man in police uniform kick aside the first hoodlum and lunge for the other.

    Police Your Planet | Lester del Rey

British Dictionary definitions for hoodlum

hoodlum

/ (ˈhuːdləm) /


noun
  1. a petty gangster or ruffian

  2. a lawless youth

Origin of hoodlum

1
C19: perhaps from Southern German dialect Haderlump ragged good-for-nothing

Derived forms of hoodlum

  • hoodlumism, noun

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