hooligan
Americannoun
adjective
noun
Usage
What does hooligan mean? A hooligan is a person who intentionally makes trouble or breaks the law with rowdy, unruly behavior, especially with other hooligans.Hooligan is synonymous with ruffian and hoodlum, but all three words can sound a little too outdated to capture the seriousness of the trouble that such people can cause.Specifically, the term hooligan is applied to members of groups who use sporting events, especially soccer (football) games, as an opportunity to intentionally cause trouble or incite violence. The practice of doing so is called hooliganism.The term is most often used in the plural because it almost always implies that there is a group of troublemakers—it is somewhat uncommon to refer to someone acting alone as a hooligan.Example: The latest match was canceled after hooligans started a brawl outside the stadium.
Other Word Forms
- hooliganism noun
Etymology
Origin of hooligan
First recorded in 1895–1900; perhaps after the Irish surname Hooligan, but corroborating evidence is lacking
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.
