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definitions

shoo

[ shoo ]
/ ʃu /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR shoo ON THESAURUS.COM

interjection

(used to scare or drive away a cat, dog, chickens, birds, etc.)

verb (used with object), shooed, shoo·ing.

to drive away by saying or shouting “shoo.”
to request or force (a person) to leave: I'll have to shoo you out of here now.

verb (used without object), shooed, shoo·ing.

to call out “shoo.”

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RELATED WORDS

scoot, scram, git, begone, away, depart, leave, off, out, scat, vamoose, hightail, skiddoo, skedaddle

Nearby words

  1. shona,
  2. shone,
  3. shoneen,
  4. shongololo,
  5. shonky,
  6. shoo-fly,
  7. shoo-fly pie,
  8. shoo-fly plant,
  9. shoo-in,
  10. shoofly

Origin of shoo

1475–85; earlier showe, shough, shooh, ssou (interjection), imitative; compare German schu
Can be confusedshoe shoo
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for shoo

British Dictionary definitions for shoo

shoo

/ (ʃuː) /

interjection

go away!: used to drive away unwanted or annoying people, animals, etc

verb shoos, shooing or shooed

(tr) to drive away by or as if by crying "shoo."
(intr) to cry "shoo."

Word Origin for shoo

C15: imitative; related to Middle High German schū, French shou, Italian scio
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
Word Origin and History for shoo

shoo

v.

1620s, "to drive away by calling 'shoo,' " from the exclamation (late 15c.), perhaps instinctive, cf. German schu, Italian scioia. Related: Shooed; shooing.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper