Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

jeer

1 American  
[jeer] / dʒɪər /

verb (used without object)

  1. to speak or shout derisively; scoff or gibe rudely.

    Don't jeer unless you can do better.
    Synonyms:
    jest, sneer

verb (used with object)

  1. to shout derisively at; taunt.

    Synonyms:
    fleer, flout, ridicule, deride

  2. to treat with scoffs or derision; mock.

    Synonyms:
    fleer, flout, ridicule, deride

  3. to drive away by derisive shouts (followed by out of, off, etc.).

    They jeered the speaker off the stage.

noun

  1. a jeering utterance; derisive or rude gibe.

jeer 2 American  
[jeer] / dʒɪər /

noun

Nautical.

  1. any of various combinations of tackles for raising or lowering heavy yards.

jeer British  
/ dʒɪə /

verb

  1. (often foll by at) to laugh or scoff (at a person or thing); mock

"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

noun

  1. a remark or cry of derision; gibe; taunt

"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

Related Words

See scoff 1.

Other Word Forms

  • jeerer noun
  • jeering adjective
  • jeeringly adverb
  • unjeered adjective
  • unjeering adjective

Etymology

Origin of jeer1

1555–65; origin uncertain; compare Old English cēir clamor, akin to cēgan to call out

Origin of jeer2

First recorded in 1485–95; origin uncertain

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.

"This was a jeer from two so-called men to a child," she said.

From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026

The phrase carries a derisive jeer, a suggestion that anyone born into fame and wealth gets to glide through life.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 16, 2025

The broad storytelling calls back to a kind of retro filmmaking based on pure sensation and emotion, in which we cheer for the heroes and jeer for the villains.

From Los Angeles Times • May 31, 2024

Many say they plan to jeer him or otherwise protest his presence.

From New York Times • May 25, 2024

They continued to jeer at him, but he said nothing more.

From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner

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.