spook
Americannoun
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Slang. a ghostwriter.
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Slang. an eccentric person.
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Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Black person.
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Slang. an espionage agent; spy.
verb (used with object)
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to haunt; inhabit or appear in or to as a ghost or specter.
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Informal. to frighten; scare.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a ghost or a person suggestive of this
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a spy
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slang any pale or colourless alcoholic spirit
spook and diesel
verb
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to frighten
to spook horses
to spook a person
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(of a ghost) to haunt
Sensitive Note
When referring to a black person, the term spook dates back to the 1940s. It is used with disparaging intent and is perceived as highly insulting. Black pilots who trained at Tuskegee Institute during World War II were called the Spookwaffe. Some sources say that black pilots reclaimed this derogatory nickname as a self-referential term of pride.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have spookedperfect
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has spookedperfect 3rd person singular
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are spookingprogressive
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have been spookingperfect progressive
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am spookingprogressive 1st person singular
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spookingparticiple
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is spookingprogressive 3rd person singular
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spookssingular 3rd person
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has been spookingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had spookedperfect
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were spookingprogressive plural
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had been spookingperfect progressive
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was spookingprogressive singular
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spookedsimple
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spookedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of spook
An Americanism first recorded in 1795–1805; from Dutch; cognate with German Spuk
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.
All these little homages, not just to "The Spook Who Sat by the Door," but also "Putney Swope," all of these things within that particular episode were just genius.
From Salon • Nov. 30, 2022
Do I quietly lose it and hope neither Grandma nor Spook ask about it again?
From Slate • Sep. 7, 2021
The “Spooky Brown” moniker came from “The Spook Who Sat by the Door,” a 1969 spy novel about the CIA’s token hiring of its first Black officer.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2021
They made surreal, disturbing musicals like Jeffries’ “The Fatty Arbuckle Spook House Revue” — and people lined up around the block.
From Seattle Times • May 2, 2021
If I was a Spook, every day’d be as epic as today.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
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.
