hoot
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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hoots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hooted,
past participle, past
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hooting
present participle
verb (used with object)
-
hoots,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hooted,
past participle, past
-
hooting
present participle
noun
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hoots
plural
-
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.
-
Informal. the least bit of concern, interest, or thought; trifle.
His religion doesn't matter a hoot to me.
-
Slang. an extremely funny person, situation, or event.
Your cousin is such a hoot!
idioms
interjection
noun
-
the mournful wavering cry of some owls
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a similar sound, such as that of a train whistle
-
a jeer of derision
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informal an amusing person or thing
the weekend was a hoot
-
not to care at all
verb
-
(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
-
(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
-
has hootedperfect
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am hootingprogressive
-
are hootingprogressive
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is hootingprogressive
-
have been hootingperfect progressive
-
has been hootingperfect progressive
Past
-
hootedsimple
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had hootedperfect
-
was hootingprogressive
-
were hootingprogressive
-
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:
While throwing, the chimpanzees pant hoot — a loud, long-distance communicative signal — and sometimes repeatedly hit their hands and feet on the tree in a behavior called buttress drumming.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
Former talk-show host Winfrey wrote that one of her fondest memories with Parton was "having a hoot and a holler while wearing Bob Mackie gowns on her show Dolly".
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
You can’t help but grin at Sessa’s hoot when his scrawny Tony finally manages to muscle a raw potato through a french-fry slicer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
"But the kid inside of you wants to break out and just hoot and holler."
From Barron's ● Apr. 4, 2026
I can hear the occasional hoot or howl, my first clue that I'll be competing with natural predators for the rabbits.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
So on “SNL,” as Storrie’s monologue winds down, we see the Hughes brothers take the stage to polite applause and a few hoots.
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2026
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
Rod hoots with laughter: "You deserve it, my man. I'm going to give you a round of applause."
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 2024
She lay in bed as the hoots and laughter and bantering voices downstairs began to mushroom.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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
Asked for their full names, they hooted raucously.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2024
Every time they hooted or interrupted, he gave as good as he got, mocking their points and challenging them to pass important legislation.
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2024
A speeding motorist hooted frantically to warn traders on the sides of the road to move away.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 19, 2023
And even then, in the quiet darkness inside the caravan, the pretty bird chuckled and twittered and trilled, and, once, it even hooted like a little owl.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
Pant hooting and buttress drumming are both part of the male chimpanzee display, suggesting that accumulative stone throwing might represent a modification of this common behavior.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 28, 2026
A crowd came out waving blue and yellow national flags, cheering as the buses carrying the freed men passed hooting their horns.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2025
Parnther, a charismatic figure, has a growing fan base for his conducting, and he elicited hooting and hollering from the audience.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2024
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
The kids stood under the lamps and started acting like monkeys, howling and hooting, scratching under their arms.
From "Shooting Kabul" by N. H. Senzai
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
