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:
You suspect even the watching Ant and Dec did not necessarily envisage that hoodoo ending on Saturday.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 2026
Winger Corey Toole is confident the ACT Brumbies have what it takes to snap a 26-year hoodoo against the Canterbury Crusaders in Christchurch, drawing inspiration from their drought-breaking victory in Auckland last year.
From Barron's ● Feb. 21, 2026
United have some sort of hoodoo over Villa, who have only beaten them in one of their past 26 Premier League meetings - Unai Emery's first game in charge, in November 2022.
From BBC ● Dec. 18, 2025
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
So feel I. Living in the Congo shakes open the prison house of my disposition and lets all the wicked hoodoo Adahs run forth.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Townsend has won some big games and has ended some hoodoos.
From BBC ● Nov. 20, 2025
By the time we made it to Black Canyon of the Gunnison, we were pretty excited to see something other than the hoodoos and arches that we were starting to take for granted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2023
The bus crashed a few miles from Bryce Canyon National Park, which is known for its intricately shaped red-rock spires called hoodoos.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 15, 2021
Drivers must pay the $35 entrance fee to motor down the 26-mile stretch that passes by hoodoos, slot canyons and ombre-colored mesas.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 15, 2021
Now to break the old hoodoos about cake-baking!
From Mrs. Wilson's Cook Book Numerous New Recipes Based on Present Economic Conditions by Wilson, Mary A.
“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
"You said Tom and Jerry were hoodooed," said Andy and Hortense together.
From The Cat in Grandfather's House by Grabo, Carl Henry
They could use it and they did, but were mighty sure they’d all be hoodooed if they uncovered it for anyone else, so I reckon that primitive dope does go pretty far back.
From The Treasure Trail A Romance of the Land of Gold and Sunshine by Amick, Robert Wesley
Sister Thompson tell these ladies about bein hoodooed.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves Arkansas Narratives, Part 3 by Work Projects Administration
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
"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
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.
