jeer
1 Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
verb
noun
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.