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  • Hula-Hoop
    Hula-Hoop
    a brand name for a tubular plastic hoop, about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter, for rotating about the body by swinging the hips, used for physical exercise or in children's play: introduced in the 1950s.
  • Hula Hoop
    Hula Hoop
    noun
    a light hoop that is whirled around the body by movements of the waist and hips

Hula-Hoop

American  
[hoo-luh-hoop] / ˈhu ləˌhup /
Trademark.
  1. a brand name for a tubular plastic hoop, about 4 feet (1.2 meters) in diameter, for rotating about the body by swinging the hips, used for physical exercise or in children's play: introduced in the 1950s.


Hula Hoop British  

noun

  1. a light hoop that is whirled around the body by movements of the waist and hips

"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

Explanation

A hula-hoop is a toy — a plastic, circular tube you rotate around your body by circling your hips. Some experts can get several hula-hoops spinning at the same time. Twirling a hula-hoop around your waist is fun, and it's also good exercise. Hoops have been used as playthings for centuries, but the hula-hoop was invented in 1958. The toy made from plastic tubing was based on traditional hoops made of rattan or bamboo, and it was wildly popular. At one point, the manufacturer produced 50,000 hula-hoops a day. The word hula was used because the hip movements were seen as similar to the Hawaiian hula dance.

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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.

“Our top five runners, we could’ve thrown a hula hoop around them,” he said.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 4, 2023

Dressed in green and playing with a hula hoop, she said: "The war came suddenly and we are afraid of it".

From Reuters • Oct. 10, 2023

She’d stand on the side of the road so traffic could see her and hula hoop her little heart out.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2023

However, the only reason James could pose and Westbrook could pretend to be a hula hoop during a 130-119 win was the biggest, baddest man of the night — and maybe in the NBA.

From Washington Post • Dec. 5, 2022

An old neon-green hula hoop hung from a wooden peg on the wall, a huge saint’s discarded halo.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy

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