hoodoo
Americannoun
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Hoodoo. African American folk magic practiced predominantly in the southeastern United States through rituals of protection, herbal medicine, charming of objects, and ancestor veneration.
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(in popular culture) bad luck, or a person or thing that brings bad luck.
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Geology. a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a variant of voodoo
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informal a person or thing that brings bad luck
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informal bad luck
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(in the western US and Canada) a strangely shaped column of rock
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hoodoo
An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; apparently a variant of Voodoo
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Parisians finally broke their Champions League hoodoo in May 2025 with a 5-0 win over Inter Milan - the biggest winning margin in a final.
From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2026
James Slipper scored a try in his 200th Super Rugby match as the ACT Brumbies broke a 26-year hoodoo on Sunday with a 50-24 hammering of the Canterbury Crusaders.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
Steve Harmison, a former Ashes-winning fast bowler for England, believes Root is on course to end his hoodoo.
From Barron's ● Nov. 16, 2025
Seven times in five Tests Broad got Warner, part of an overall hoodoo of 17 dismissals.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2025
I must be the only one free of your hoodoo bad luck.”
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
Hikes into the mountains bring you winter views of the hoodoos, a distinct landmark of the Columbia Valley.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 23, 2024
In Norwegian folklore they stand as the nation's great hoodoos, the unexplained phenomena that put the heart sideways in those who have encountered them.
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2023
They sat in the passenger seat as we descended the scenic drive, and at each lookout point I ducked out of the car to take photos so they could see the hoodoos we were passing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2023
This 9,915-acre state park is one of Utah’s most popular and, along with Bryce Canyon National Park, about 200 miles southwest, contains some of the largest occurrences of hoodoos in the world.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 16, 2022
I been a-tryin' everywhere, but this kind o' work hoodoos a man, and they won't give me no ref'rence 'cause I don't git more'n my board and they don't want to lose me.
From Felix O'Day by Smith, Francis Hopkinson
“He got hoodooed by this guy. He’s worth $16 billion. He’s obviously hoodooed a few people here and there. He took our governor for a ride,” Harpootlian said.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 14, 2022
His explanation: he was being hoodooed by a radio announcer.
From Time Magazine Archive
I’ve met the graveyard rabbit—one of them had hoodooed my motor yesterday.
From The Valiants of Virginia by Rives, Hallie Erminie
And old Uncle Gloster says, 'Boss, I'm doin' my best, but it looks like somebody's done hoodooed this bell.'
From The Land of Long Ago by Hall, Eliza Calvert
"There is such things as hoodooed ships, Miss Bostwick, just like there is hoodooed folks," he said hoarsely, without seeming to notice her shrinking from him and her changed countenance.
From Sheila of Big Wreck Cove A Story of Cape Cod by Owen, R. Emmett (Robert Emmett)
"I won't be any longer than I can help, and don't you go to hoodooing me, now, while I'm upstairs."
From Jewel by Burnham, Clara Louise
Do you realize what a start like this—three twos—would mean to a professional like Frank or even an amateur that hadn't offended every busy little fate and fury in the whole hoodooing business?
From Murder in Any Degree by Johnson, Owen
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
