hype

¹ American  

[hahyp] / haɪp /

verb (used with object)

hyped, hyping

1. to stimulate, excite, or agitate (usually followed byup ).

   She was hyped up at the thought of owning her own car.

2. to create interest in by flamboyant or dramatic methods; promote or publicize showily.

   a promoter who knows how to hype a prizefight.

3. to intensify (advertising, promotion, or publicity) by ingenious or questionable claims, methods, etc. (usually followed byup ).

4. to trick; gull.

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noun

1. exaggerated publicity; hoopla.

2. an ingenious or questionable claim, method, etc., used in advertising, promotion, or publicity to intensify the effect.

3. a swindle, deception, or trick.

hype ² American  

[hahyp] / haɪp /

noun

Slang.

1. a hypodermic needle.

2. Disparaging and Offensive. a person who is addicted to a drug, especially one who uses a hypodermic needle.

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hype ¹ British  

/ haɪp /

noun

1. a deception or racket

2. intensive or exaggerated publicity or sales promotion

   media hype

3. the person or thing so publicized

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verb

1. to market or promote (a product) using exaggerated or intensive publicity

2. to falsify or rig (something)

3. (in the pop-music business) to buy (copies of a particular record) in such quantity as to increase its ratings in the charts

hype ² British  

/ haɪp /

noun

1. a hypodermic needle or injection

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verb

1. to inject oneself with a drug

2. (tr) to stimulate artificially or excite

Other Word Forms

• hyper
  noun
• hyping
  noun

Etymology

Origin of hype¹

An Americanism dating back to 1820–30, in sense “to trick, swindle,” of uncertain origin; subsequent senses perhaps by reanalysis as a shortening of hyperbole

Origin of hype²

First recorded in 1920–25; shortening of hypodermic; cf. hypo ¹

Explanation

As a noun, hype means extravagant claims about a person or product. All the hype about a miraculous new kind of mop might influence you to buy one, but after trying it out you'll realize it's just a mop. Experts speculate that the word hype may be a back formation of hyperbole, or it may come from hyper — old-fashioned slang for a person who swindled someone. As a verb, to hype something is to blatantly promote it. If you hype your favorite restaurant enough, your friends will finally try it. If they all hate it, though, they might never listen to you again!

Example Sentences

"The hype has worked," she told the BBC, adding that the watch was aspirational, with shoppers able to pay a fraction of the usual cost for an AP product.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

Such hype hasn’t sold the general public on the technology.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

He more than lived up to the hype, throwing a four-hit shutout with seven strikeouts and zero walks in a 4-0 victory that advances the Knights to next Friday’s Southern Section Division 1 baseball quarterfinals.

From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026

Luria said the initial hype around Cerebras could be understood by investors as a sign of “exuberance,” which is being met by caution on Friday.

From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026

What certainly went on the Harlem and Roxbury wires was that Detroit Red was going crazy in stir, or else he was trying some hype to shake up the warden’s office.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Related Words

• advertise
• announce
• boost
• broadcast
• pitch
• promote
• promulgate
• tout
• trumpet