hoot
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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hoots,
present (3rd person singular)
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hooted,
past participle, past
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hooting
present participle
verb (used with object)
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hoots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hooted,
past participle, past
-
hooting
present participle
noun
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hoots
plural
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the cry of an owl.
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any similar sound, as an inarticulate shout.
-
a cry or shout, especially of disapproval or derision.
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British. a horn, siren, or whistle, especially a factory whistle.
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Informal. the least bit of concern, interest, or thought; trifle.
His religion doesn't matter a hoot to me.
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Slang. an extremely funny person, situation, or event.
Your cousin is such a hoot!
idioms
interjection
noun
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the mournful wavering cry of some owls
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a similar sound, such as that of a train whistle
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a jeer of derision
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informal an amusing person or thing
the weekend was a hoot
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not to care at all
verb
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(often foll by at) to jeer or yell (something) contemptuously (at someone)
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(tr) to drive (political speakers, actors on stage, etc) off or away by hooting
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(intr) to make a hoot
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(intr) to blow a horn
interjection
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hootsimple
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hootssimple
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have hootedperfect
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has hootedperfect
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am hootingprogressive
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are hootingprogressive
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is hootingprogressive
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have been hootingperfect progressive
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has been hootingperfect progressive
Past
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hootedsimple
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had hootedperfect
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was hootingprogressive
-
were hootingprogressive
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had been hootingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
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”)
Explanation
A hoot is the musical call an owl makes. The hoot of an owl sounds very much like the word hoot. An owl's hoot is the inspiration for a similar sound that people make to show disapproval or scorn: "The sound of the crowd's hoots filled the stadium when the soccer player kicked the ball into his own team's goal." To make this sound, whether you're a person or an owl, is to hoot, and if you don't give a hoot, it means you really don't care at all.
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:
His singing of Oscar Straus and Leo Robin’s “Oh, That Mitzi” is a hoot.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
Elton’s motivations don’t make sense, but at least Cera barges into the movie with so much energy that his sequence is a hoot.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2025
Seeing each stride into frame is a hoot.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025
Crowds hoot and cheer as the contraptions float into the darkening sky, while referees judge the magnificence of their aerial explosions.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025
The only living souls to overhear us on this back road were our horses and perhaps the occasional hoot owl.
From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan
The depictions of Ruth’s uptight and stingy brother Hyacinth and jealous and mother-in-law from hell “old Mrs. Hall” are both hoots.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
The audience in Dallas — the city where the comedian began her stand-up career and later set her self-titled network sitcom — hoots and hollers in response.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2025
But us football fans must recognize that not everyone hoots and hollers for the conversion on a long third down or a legendary pick six.
From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2025
"Mainly that she really does not care two hoots what anybody thinks. Never did, never will, and I love that about her," she said.
From BBC ● May 28, 2024
There were hoots of approval, so the two of them nodded at each other and began to draw.
From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon
A barred owl hooted and shook its feathers in a sycamore above the creek, and red-bellied cooters sunned themselves on half-submerged logs.
From Slate ● Apr. 27, 2026
Had she addressed me, I probably would have hooted in response.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2025
The viewers clapped when Chris Tucker appeared onscreen, and they hooted for Viola Davis.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2023
A speeding motorist hooted frantically to warn traders on the sides of the road to move away.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2023
Master’s mother clapped her hands, then hooted and slapped her palm across her mouth so that the sound echoed.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The 20-something fan seated next to me felt the same way about Araki, hooting so much for his favorite filmmaker that he apologized.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026
Millions of folks sat down with Williams every day for more than 14 years, hooting and hissing as she spilled the tea as if she were in their living rooms with them.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2024
He spent his nights hooting atop water towers and preying on the city’s abundant rats.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 23, 2024
He orchestrated moments of levity that had audiences hooting, hollering and laughing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 1, 2023
I had walked a block south when an enormous roar erupted from the prison-hundreds of throats cheering, hooting, hollering; hundreds of hands clapping and feet stomping with joy.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
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.
