shoo
Americaninterjection
verb (used with object)
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shoos,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shooed,
past participle, past
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shooing
present participle
-
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)
-
shoos,
present (3rd person singular)
-
shooed,
past participle, past
-
shooing
present participle
interjection
verb
-
(tr) to drive away by or as if by crying "shoo."
-
(intr) to cry "shoo."
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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shoosimple
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shoossimple
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have shooedperfect
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has shooedperfect
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am shooingprogressive
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are shooingprogressive
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is shooingprogressive
-
have been shooingperfect progressive
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has been shooingperfect progressive
Past
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shooedsimple
-
had shooedperfect
-
was shooingprogressive
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were shooingprogressive
-
had been shooingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of shoo
1475–85; earlier showe, shough, shooh, ssou (interjection), imitative; compare German schu
Vocabulary lists containing shoo
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:
Numerous attempts to shoo them away, including Sampras batting his racquet at them, failed, and the match had to be suspended.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
Harbor staff try to ease them along to the 42 floats built to accommodate the creatures and they use big wooden panels, called herding boards, to gently shoo them away from the boat docks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
In some cases, residents have tried to shoo away dogs from feeding spots to discourage people from providing them food.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2025
Tillman has enough arrogance to shoo the agents away, but Ole Munch and Dot herself are still in the wind, which makes him a target, too.
From New York Times ● Nov. 22, 2023
It would poke and peck about, perhaps circling the box, perhaps even ambling over to the spectators, who would laugh and shoo it back to the field.
From "Wringer" by Jerry Spinelli
Chewbacca shoos the Porgs away so he can eat in peace.
From Salon ● Apr. 28, 2024
The guard occasionally shoos patrons away because it's a restricted area.
From Golf Digest ● Apr. 8, 2019
He shoos his children into the house to do their homework just before his “bros” arrive.
From The Guardian ● May 19, 2018
He shoos away reporters’ questions on the politics of all of this.
From Time ● Jan. 8, 2016
The waitress comes over to take our order, but Detective Stevens shoos her away.
From "American Street" by Ibi Zoboi
He’d force himself into the kitchen, cooking orders before he was shooed away.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 7, 2026
The man disappeared around a corner as security guards shooed the lawyer back to another room.
From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2025
After taking a few laps of the gore, it gets shooed away.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2024
The FBI had shooed McCarthy away from a different part of Dents Run a day earlier.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 6, 2023
In any case, Luna’s grandmother hastily shooed her out the door, and then her thinking went fuzzy, and then she was back inside pouring tea from the pot.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
Bernie Sanders replied incredulously, when I approached him outside a Senate elevator, before shooing me away.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2026
It's a bit too early for a drink, though, so Sir Rod orders up a venti coffee, shooing away an over-eager assistant who attempts to stir in his sugar.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2025
He shouted out his words, not at all the joyful warrior of Harris-Walz fashion, but more like a cranky old man shooing kids off his lawn.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2024
Generally, the person who invited you to the party is responsible for connecting unfamiliar folks, but sometimes your host is uncorking bottles and shooing away mynah birds.
From Salon ● Nov. 22, 2023
Through the window, I could see Kilvin waving his arms like a farmer shooing crows.
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
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.
