jeer
1 Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
noun
verb
noun
Synonym Usage
See scoff 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
jeersimple
-
jeerssimple
-
have jeeredperfect
-
has jeeredperfect
-
am jeeringprogressive
-
are jeeringprogressive
-
is jeeringprogressive
-
have been jeeringperfect progressive
-
has been jeeringperfect progressive
Past
-
jeeredsimple
-
had jeeredperfect
-
was jeeringprogressive
-
were jeeringprogressive
-
had been jeeringperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
As a noun, jeer is the act of scoffing, taunting, or mocking. Think of it as an anti-cheer. If you offer cheers for the visiting team and jeers for the home team, you might not be too popular in the stands. As a verb, jeer means to laugh at in a mean way. Even if you did forget the words to the national anthem, it wasn't polite for the crowd to jeer. But don't feel too bad: the last singer remembered all the words and they jeered her anyway! Tough crowd.
Vocabulary lists containing jeer
List 3
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Ghost
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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.
See Examples For:
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
By the time the visitors made it out to inspect the pitch, there were Newcastle fans gathered to jeer them some more.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 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
That said, jeers to the luxury hotel for having, gasp, powdered coffee creamer in its in-room Nespresso set up.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
“Good evening, everyone,” Bass began over jeers, in the tone of an elementary school teacher who knows her students are going to act extra.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
The jeers included "No to war!" and "Protect Article 9!"
From Barron's ● Jun. 24, 2026
And after England's win against Croatia, the first hydration break during the match between Ghana and Panama was also greeted by jeers.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
It was even more deafening than the jeers immediately around me.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
By contrast, crowds jeered at the acting Venezuelan president, Delcy Rodríguez, chanting “Get out! Get out!” when she went to visit one hard-hit neighborhood.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 30, 2026
Some of those fans turned their backs during the national anthem, which many in the stands jeered at its start.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
When Eric Schmidt, speaking last week to the University of Arizona’s graduates, rhapsodized about the coming artificial-intelligence revolution, some in the crowed jeered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
Pollock was jeered throughout but at the final whistle, as he applauded the Stade Chaban-Delmas, those same fans chanted his name in a show of respect, external.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
Now, swaggering back, they jeered at the other kids.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
One of the most famous images, Robert Capa's The Shaved Woman of Chartres, shows a young mother walking through a jeering crowd with a swastika painted on her forehead.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
“This is a family town,” the arresting officer tells jeering onlookers as he and the two others handcuff Gamble.
From Slate ● May 4, 2026
“I know many of the members across the House will find these facts to be incredible,” Starmer said to jeering lawmakers on Monday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
A video shows the crowd jeering at the officers as they’re being escorted out of the area by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 2026
A half-sound of jeering ran round the circle and Simon shrank from it.
From "Lord of the Flies" by William Golding
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.
