Advertisement

View synonyms for hoot

hoot

1

[ hoot ]

verb (used without object)

  1. to cry out or shout, especially in disapproval or derision.

    Synonyms: hiss, boo, jeer

  2. to utter the cry characteristic of an owl.
  3. to utter a similar sound.
  4. Chiefly British. to blow a horn or whistle; toot.


verb (used with object)

  1. to assail with shouts of disapproval or derision:

    The fans hooted the umpire.

    Synonyms: razz, boo

  2. to drive out, off, or away by hooting.
  3. to express in hoots:

    The crowd hooted its disagreement with the speaker.

noun

  1. the cry of an owl.
  2. any similar sound, as an inarticulate shout.
  3. a cry or shout, especially of disapproval or derision.
  4. British. a horn, siren, or whistle, especially a factory whistle.
  5. Informal. the least bit of concern, interest, or thought; trifle:

    His religion doesn't matter a hoot to me.

  6. Slang. an extremely funny person, situation, or event:

    Your cousin is such a hoot!

hoot

2
or hoots

[ hoot ]

interjection

, Scot. and North England.
  1. (used as an expression of impatience, dissatisfaction, objection, or dislike.)

hoot

1

/ huːt /

noun

  1. the mournful wavering cry of some owls
  2. a similar sound, such as that of a train whistle
  3. a jeer of derision
  4. informal.
    an amusing person or thing

    the weekend was a hoot

  5. not give a hoot
    not to care at all
“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


verb

  1. often foll by at to jeer or yell (something) contemptuously (at someone)
  2. tr to drive (political speakers, actors on stage, etc) off or away by hooting
  3. intr to make a hoot
  4. intr to blow a horn
“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

hoot

2

/ huːt /

noun

  1. a slang word for money
“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

hoot

3

/ huːts; huːt /

interjection

  1. an exclamation of impatience or dissatisfaction: a supposed Scotticism
“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
Discover More

Other Words From

  • hoot·ing·ly adverb
  • un·hoot·ed adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of hoot1

First recorded in 1200–1250; Middle English verb houten, whoten; imitative of the sound

Origin of hoot2

First recorded in 1600–10; hoot 1( def ) (in the sense “shout of disapproval or derision”)
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of hoot1

C13 hoten, of imitative origin

Origin of hoot2

from Māori utu price

Origin of hoot3

C17: of unknown origin
Discover More

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. not give / care a hoot, Informal. to not care at all: not givecare two hoots.

    I don't give a hoot.

More idioms and phrases containing hoot

see not give a damn (hoot) .
Discover More

Example Sentences

Bogusky, who says he has enormous respect for the Olympic athletes themselves, says he can’t remember another time when consumers could look for a symbol that says a company doesn’t really give a hoot about human rights.

From Time

Now there’ll be this big historical marker, which I think is just a hoot.

You might hear the hoot of an owl, the swoosh of a bat’s wings, the croaking of frogs, the sawing of crickets, or even just the wind whispering through grass or trees.

Mager initially had made hoots and sounds like those of loon chicks in hopes that would attract the bird.

Just before sunrise, we were woken by a cacophony of hoots and realized that every single one of those cacti was home to an owl.

Hooters is cleverly asking me to “Give a Hoot” about breast cancer.

Lawrence is a freaking hoot in American Hustle, who takes her Big Scenes and sets them on fire.

I thought you were a hoot on Community as the lawyer for the estate of Pierce.

The first four letters in hootenanny spell hoot -- and The Seeger Sessions was fun -- with a purpose.

The Explosion at the Wig Factory was about as big of a hoot as you can comfortably call a tragedy like an explosion.

Now men laughed at him, pointed to him with their fingers, and made their children mock and hoot the penniless insolvent.

And there was music in all the saloons and restaurants; it rose and fell with the noise of the tin horn and the hoot of the happy.

When the owls beat their wings and gave the mating call and hoot, it was like a foam of noise rising over a river of silence.

The soft hoot of a little owl came through the dusk, and between its calls the men's voices rose and fell.

The owl, whose matin hoot announces the appearance of the sun, had already given its melancholy note.

Advertisement

Related Words

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.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


Hoosier Statehootch