shoo

[shoo]

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.”

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. 2018

Related Words for shooed

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

Examples from the Web for shooed

Contemporary Examples of shooed

“Some guy came up and shooed them all away because TV was Western,” recalls the officer, who asked not to be named.
ISIS Leader: ‘See You in New York’
Michael Daly
June 14, 2014
For their hard work, they are treated like subhuman filth and shooed to the “colored” restroom out back.
Do I Have to Read The Help?
William Boot
January 16, 2010

Historical Examples of shooed

Well, I'm kind of glad I shooed that reception committee out of the way.
The Portygee
Joseph Crosby Lincoln
That species of fowl is not to be shooed off as easily as a chicken.
'Twixt Land & Sea
Joseph Conrad
And one of the maids coming too near, she shooed her angrily away.
Beyond
John Galsworthy
Miss Prouty shooed Andy off the stage and apologized for him.
Jerry's Charge Account
Hazel Hutchins Wilson
Then they all gathered on the other side, and "shooed," and waved their arms as well as the lantern.
Chums of the Camp Fire
Lawrence J. Leslie

British Dictionary definitions for shooed

shoo

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 shooed

shoo

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