hootenanny
Americannoun
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a social gathering or informal concert featuring folk singing and, sometimes, dancing.
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an informal session at which folk singers and instrumentalists perform for their own enjoyment.
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Older Use. thingamajig.
noun
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an informal performance by folk singers
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something the name of which is unspecified or forgotten
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hootenanny
First recorded in 1910–15; origin uncertain
Explanation
A hootenanny is a lively folk music party or performance. If you're invited to a hootenanny, bring your fiddle or come prepared to sing along! When hootenanny first appeared in American English, it was an informal word for "gadget," a generic placeholder like thingamajig or doodad. It came to mean "impromptu party with music" in some rural regions and was adopted in the 1940s for gatherings held by folk musicians including Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Hootenannies reached the height of popularity in the 1960s, but you can throw one today by getting together with friends to play and sing music!
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.
Dean will cap off her incredible year - which also saw her achieve four simultaneous top 10 hits - by appearing on Jools Holland's Hootenanny.
From BBC • Dec. 30, 2025
How did a 12-string Framus Hootenanny guitar that was owned by John Lennon end up at an L.A. repair shop?
From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2024
She took her 15-year-old brother to "Hootenanny Night" at the Bitter End in Greenwich Village.
From Salon • Apr. 14, 2022
Fetterhoff recalls a small group of ranch musicians taking a trek to the Dornan’s Hootenanny, where they “absolutely brought down the house,” and when Genualdi brings his violin out, “you can hear a pin drop.”
From Washington Times • Jun. 27, 2018
Southern Sideshow Hootenanny This sideshow performance raises funds for the upcoming Southern Sideshow Hootenanny weekend March 4-6 in New Orleans.
From Washington Post • Jan. 12, 2016
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.
