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• hooker
  hooker

  noun

  a person or thing that hooks.
• Hooker
  Hooker

  noun

  Joseph, 1814–79, Union general in the U.S. Civil War.

hooker

¹ American  

[hook-er] / ˈhʊk ər /

noun

1. a person or thing that hooks.

2. Slang. prostitute.

3. Slang. a large drink of liquor.

4. Slang. a concealed problem, flaw, or drawback; a catch.

5. Rugby. a player who hooks the ball in the front line of scrummage.

6. (initial capital letter) a contemptuous term used to refer to an Amish Mennonite.

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hooker ² American  

[hook-er] / ˈhʊk ər /

noun

Nautical.

1. Slang. any old-fashioned or clumsy vessel.

2. any fishing vessel working with hooks and lines rather than nets.

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Hooker ³ American  

[hook-er] / ˈhʊk ər /

noun

1. Joseph, 1814–79, Union general in the U.S. Civil War.

2. Richard, 1554?–1600, English author and clergyman.

3. Thomas, 1586?–1647, English Puritan clergyman: one of the founders of the colony of Connecticut.

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hooker ¹ British  

/ ˈhʊkə /

noun

1. a person or thing that hooks

2. slang

   1. a draught of alcoholic drink, esp of spirits

   2. a prostitute

3. rugby the central forward in the front row of a scrum whose main job is to hook the ball

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Hooker ² British  

/ ˈhʊkə /

noun

1. John Lee. 1917–2001, US blues singer and guitarist

2. Sir Joseph Dalton. 1817–1911, British botanist; director of Kew Gardens (1865–85)

3. Richard. 1554–1600, British theologian, who influenced Anglican theology with The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity (1593–97)

4. Sir William Jackson. 1785–1865, British botanist; first director of Kew Gardens: father of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker

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hooker ³ British  

/ ˈhʊkə /

noun

1. a commercial fishing boat using hooks and lines instead of nets

2. a sailing boat of the west of Ireland formerly used for cargo and now for pleasure sailing and racing

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Sensitivity

The Mennonites were irreverently spoken of as Hookers , because they used hooks and eyes on their clothes instead of buttons.

Etymology

Origin of hooker¹

First recorded in 1560–70; in 1835–45 hooker ¹ for def. 2, an Americanism; hook ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of hooker²

First recorded in 1635–45; from Dutch hoeker, equivalent to hoek hook ¹ + -er -er ¹

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hooker Hooker

Meanwhile, Australia hooker Keeley Nizza has made it clear they will not take England lightly.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

Steve Tandy has selected a 39-strong group for the November Tests, with hooker Dewi Lake named as captain.

From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026

But Leicester hit back when hooker Samiuela Moli launched himself over at the back of a driving maul and Billy Searle popped over the conversion to give Tigers a slender advantage.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

The teams traded early penalties before Springboks hooker Johan Grobbelaar drove over for the first try of the match after a powerful maul.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

The sooner we can get on shore the better, and we can wait there till the tide turns, when perhaps we shall find some hooker running up to Waterford which will take us in tow.

From The Missing Ship The Log of the "Ouzel" Galley by William Henry Giles Kingston

Hooker Elliot Dee, left out by Tandy this summer, was the one Welsh player starting for the Barbarians and was denied a try in the left corner,.

From BBC ● Jun. 27, 2026

The looks that walked down the runway also called upon the dream, soundtracked by a score that included blues icon John Lee Hooker and beloved French band Air.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

Handy, John Lee Hooker, Son House, Ike Turner and Sam Cooke all hailed from or lived for a while in this blues mecca.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026

Hooker Atkin-Davies, a replacement in that final and inspired by Ward's return to rugby, announced she was pregnant with her first child in December 2025 and, like Ward, is due to give birth this summer.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026

In January 1844, he wrote to his friend Joseph Hooker, a botanist, that he was working on a theory about the origin of species.

From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman

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