unhook
Americanverb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
verb
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(tr) to remove (something) from a hook
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(tr) to unfasten the hook of (a dress, etc)
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(intr) to become unfastened or be capable of unfastening
the dress wouldn't unhook
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
unhooksimple
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unhookssimple
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have unhookedperfect
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has unhookedperfect
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am unhookingprogressive
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are unhookingprogressive
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is unhookingprogressive
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have been unhookingperfect progressive
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has been unhookingperfect progressive
Past
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unhookedsimple
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had unhookedperfect
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was unhookingprogressive
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were unhookingprogressive
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had been unhookingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of unhook
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:
You have to come to a meeting spot at the border, unhook all your trucks and trailers, bring in another truck to bring it in to the U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2024
While trains and trucks also transport EVs, isolating and extinguishing fires is easier as workers can unhook a rail car and a trucker can pull over, said Frazee.
From Reuters ● Jul. 27, 2023
When doctors said it was time, they signed the necessary paperwork allowing the staff to unhook him from the machines.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 14, 2019
Nichols invests Beatrice with a sense of acute antennae and also, a weary steadiness: She won’t let Eddie off the hook, but she’s too tied to him to unhook herself, either.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 22, 2016
Cal said, “Will you take your books for a minute, Abra? I want to unhook this collar. It’s cutting my head off.”
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
He reels in the baitfish, unhooks it, rehooks it with the shark hook, and tosses the bobber, leader, and bait back out, before handing the shark rod to me.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2022
Mallory Sarver unhooks one, loosens the drawstring, reaches in and pulls out a tiny bird with a gray head, a brilliant yellow belly with black streaks and white stripes on its black wings.
From Washington Times ● May 26, 2018
He reels in both lines, unhooks the fish and transfers it to his son’s rig.
From The New Yorker ● Jun. 19, 2016
The flap is connected with a unique clip that unhooks with a downward squeeze.
From Time ● May 10, 2016
He unhooks a heavy ring of keys from his belt loop, shaking his head.
From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Getting unhooked from the era of easy money could bring some headaches along the way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026
Once he’d parked the buggy, he unhooked the black box from its compartment, tucking this precious cargo underneath his arm.
From Slate ● Sep. 30, 2023
Before the start of a news conference on Wednesday, officials unhooked their masks in quick succession, a staged gesture that deviated from past Covid-19 protocols.
From New York Times ● Dec. 1, 2022
Hawkins said the incident ended peacefully after some four hours as the Iranians unhooked the tow line to the drone and left the area as the American forces were nearby.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 30, 2022
Mom unhooked her seat belt and scrambled into the backseat.
From "I Survived Hurricane Katrina, 2005" by Lauren Tarshis
Six months later, pain still radiated from his back into his legs as he ran up and down the floor of a warehouse hooking and unhooking cows from milking machines.
From New York Times ● Dec. 28, 2023
"I was hooking her up to the dialysis machine when the call came in. She started unhooking herself, got dressed and off she went."
From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2019
It’s simply about unhooking your brain from the harmful routines it has adopted around this particular device, and hooking it to better things.
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2019
He soon freed himself by pushing his tongue into the blanket, which Noel now knows means he was unhooking his tongue spines from the blanket loops.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 29, 2016
Carefully, Tristran unwound the silver chain, unhooking it from the root, while stroking the bird's ruffled plumage with his left hand.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
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.
