toot
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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(of a horn or whistle) to give forth its characteristic sound.
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to make a sound resembling that of a horn, whistle, or the like.
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to sound or blow a horn, whistle, or wind instrument.
verb (used with object)
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to cause (a horn, whistle, or wind instrument) to sound.
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to sound (notes, music, etc.) on a horn or the like.
noun
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an act or sound of tooting.
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Slang. cocaine.
noun
noun
noun
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a paper bag.
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a paper cone used as a container.
verb
noun
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the sound made by or as if by a horn, whistle, etc
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slang any drug for snorting, esp cocaine
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slang a drinking spree
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slang a lavatory
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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tootsimple
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tootssimple
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have tootedperfect
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has tootedperfect
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am tootingprogressive
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are tootingprogressive
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is tootingprogressive
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have been tootingperfect progressive
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has been tootingperfect progressive
Past
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tootedsimple
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had tootedperfect
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was tootingprogressive
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were tootingprogressive
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had been tootingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of toot1
First recorded in 1500–10; akin to Low German, German tuten, Dutch toeten, Swedish tuta in the same sense; imitative of the sound; 1975–80 toot 1 for def. 7
Origin of toot2
First recorded in 1670–80; origin uncertain
Origin of toot3
First recorded in 1945–50; perhaps jocular alteration of toilet
Origin of toot4
From Pennsylvania Dutch dutt; compare German Tüte, from Low German tüte “something horn-shaped, paper rolled into the shape of a horn”; cf. toot 1
Explanation
Toot is both the act of blowing on a horn and the sound that comes out when you do. The word is fun to say, a favorite of children pretending to be cars. It suggests a kind of merry, or at least chipper, sensibility. Speaking of merriment, toot can also refer to a night of drinking and carousing. Light, fun drinking: think 1920s flappers dancing in fountains, not hardcore alcoholics with bottles in paper bags. It's the car behind you letting you know the light has changed or the cheerful sound of a tugboat asking larger ships to make way. Even "tooting your own horn" is just not that serious — it's a lighthearted spin on the otherwise obnoxious act of bragging.
Vocabulary lists containing toot
Least Presidential Vocabulary Used by Presidential Candidates during the GOP Debate (Sept. 16, 2015)
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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 orchestra warms up — there is the toot of a horn, the sound of strings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2025
"We want our steel back!" chants the crowd, as passing motorists toot their horns in support.
From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2025
Why barricade Holgate for three blocks but leave it open a couple blocks farther inland, where Sound Transit’s trains toot their way through a dangerous crossing?
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
"Not everything is perfect rainbows and unicorns, and I don't toot glitter."
From Salon ● Jan. 29, 2023
I hear Miss Hilly and her mama, Miss Walter, pull up the driveway and toot the horn.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
On Monday afternoon, sporadic vuvuzela toots and car horns could still be heard downtown, although unclear whether a holdover from the prior night's celebrations or in anticipation of the team's forthcoming arrival.
From Barron's ● Jan. 19, 2026
City Hall, which dates to the 16th century, toots out a cheerful jazz bugle call several times a day.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
The conductor would signal the engineer that passengers needed to disembark, and the engineer “would respond with two toots of the whistle,” he writes.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2024
From the calls of merry market traders to the toots of check-out tills, there are many visuals and sounds that make up a high street in England.
From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2023
I can still hear the whistle—two toots for French’s, three for Van Camp’s—and she and Chizu would be out of bed in the middle of the night, heading for the cannery.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
"He's tooted that horn real hard... so to take a stance was surprising to me," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2025
Others simply tooted their horns and waved their flags.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 13, 2024
"We've hit 1,028,362 monthly active users across the network today," Rochko tooted - Mastodon's version of tweeting - on Monday.
From Reuters ● Nov. 7, 2022
“That’s just how Big Wes would be. Wes never tooted his own horn,” Chenier said.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 19, 2021
Then, while lounging in the driver’s seat, he tooted and re-tooted the horn until Anne finally came to the front door.
From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey
So, while tooting your own horn can be uncomfortable, logging and publicizing on-the-job wins is about controlling your professional narrative.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
While walking the noisy, packed streets of the central city, with the engines of London Transport double-decker buses roaring, horns tooting and newspaper sellers shouting the headlines of the latest European crisis, he muses:
From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2025
Following Sonko’s release Thursday night, Dakar was thronged with thousands of people singing and dancing as convoys of supporters drove around tooting horns and young people piled onto motorbikes and trucks.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 15, 2024
Brian, a former non league footballer and salesman, said: "I'm getting people tooting their horns at me, saying 'lollipop man, TikTok' and it's brilliant."
From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2023
The train whistle reminds me of the tooting sounds I made today.
From "Muffled" by Jennifer Gennari
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.
