whoop
Americannoun
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whoops
plural
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a loud cry or shout, as of excitement or joy.
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the sound made by a person suffering from whooping cough.
verb (used without object)
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whoops,
present (3rd person singular)
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whooped,
past participle, past
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whooping
present participle
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to utter a loud cry or shout in expressing enthusiasm, excitement, etc.
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to cry as an owl, crane, or certain other birds.
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to make the characteristic sound accompanying the deep intake of air following a series of coughs in whooping cough.
verb (used with object)
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whoops,
present (3rd person singular)
-
whooped,
past participle, past
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whooping
present participle
-
to utter with or as if with a whoop.
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to whoop to or at.
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to call, urge, pursue, or drive with whoops.
to whoop dogs on.
interjection
verb phrase
idioms
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whoop it up,
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to raise a disturbance, as to celebrate noisily.
They whooped it up after winning the big game.
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to stir up enthusiasm, as for an idea or project.
Every spring they whoop it up for the circus.
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not worth a whoop, to be worthless.
Their promises aren't worth a whoop.
verb
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to utter (speech) with loud cries, as of enthusiasm or excitement
-
med to cough convulsively with a crowing sound made at each inspiration
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(of certain birds) to utter (a hooting cry)
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(tr) to urge on or call with or as if with whoops
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informal
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to indulge in a noisy celebration
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to arouse enthusiasm
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noun
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a loud cry, esp one expressing enthusiasm or excitement
-
med the convulsive crowing sound made during a paroxysm of whooping cough
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informal worthless
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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whoopsimple
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whoopssimple
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have whoopedperfect
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has whoopedperfect
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am whoopingprogressive
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are whoopingprogressive
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is whoopingprogressive
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have been whoopingperfect progressive
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has been whoopingperfect progressive
Past
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whoopedsimple
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had whoopedperfect
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was whoopingprogressive
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were whoopingprogressive
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had been whoopingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whoop
1350–1400; Middle English whopen, Old English hwōpan to threaten; cognate with Gothic hwopan to boast
Explanation
A whoop is a noise you make when you're celebrating something exciting. Just listen to the whoops and cheers from the crowd when your school's basketball team unexpectedly wins the championship! The joyful hooting of friends hearing your good news, the cheers of fans celebrating a bowler's strike, or the call of a cowboy urging a horse forward — these are all whoops. You can use this word as a verb too, as when you whoop with joy or laughter, or in the colloquial phrase whoop it up, meaning "have a blast." Whoop sometimes also used for the distinctive cough of someone suffering from pertussis, also known as whooping cough.
Vocabulary lists containing whoop
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:
Several years ago, on a cross-Atlantic literary festival where Shriver was an invited author, I observed a packed audience whoop and cheer Shriver’s mordant observations about everything wrong with the world.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 31, 2026
As he leads the orchestra in rehearsals at London's Air Studios, they whoop and cheer, enjoying themselves in a way that orchestras rarely do.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025
Whooping cough is named for the high-pitched whoop that can be heard as patients suck in air after coughing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 22, 2024
As the male lead entered the stage in a new production of “Romeo and Juliet” in London, a single, very loud whoop erupted from the orchestra level.
From New York Times ● May 24, 2024
He pulled his broomstick up a little to take it even higher, and heard screams and gasps of girls back on the ground and an admiring whoop from Ron.
From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling
To conservationist Ratha Sor, the whoops and whistles are the sound of hope -- a sign that the country's largest remaining stretch of intact rainforest is healthy enough to support the endangered species.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
There were shrieks of relief and whoops of disbelief, tears and fireworks and renditions of “Empire State of Mind” and “New York, New York.”
From Salon ● Jun. 17, 2026
After each one emerged from the water, there were whoops and songs of joy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
The result was greeted by whoops and cheers, with Polanski promising in his victory speech to "work every single day to grow this party" and paying tribute to his defeated rivals.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2025
Christina whoops as we bump over another piece of debris, like she’s having the time of her life.
From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
When Verdugo appointed himself mayor, the audience whooped and clapped.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
But a final run on which he did two flying laps enabled him to pip Antonelli by 0.068 seconds and Russell whooped with delight on the radio after realising he had secured pole.
From BBC ● May 23, 2026
Audience members clapped and sang along to “Thriller” and “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” and whooped every time Michael — played with admittedly impressive accuracy by Jackson’s nephew, Jaafar — hit a spin or kick.
From Salon ● Apr. 25, 2026
All the songs are hugely popular anthems of Ukrainian independence so the audience on premiere night whooped along, swept to their feet at times.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2025
While the tears rolled, I whooped again and again.
From "Where the Red Fern Grows" by Wilson Rawls
And she said the hospital had treated her husband for whooping cough for six weeks when he was a child.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Although it is not a vaccine, the vitamin K shot has been swept up in the same post-pandemic tide that has led to a drop in key childhood vaccines, including for measles and whooping cough.
From Salon ● May 7, 2026
In the mornings, Christine eagerly awaits the brightly colored, highly vocal birds swooping into their garden, whooping their greetings before flying off into the junglelike foliage.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
In the 1780s Thomas Jefferson was serving as a diplomat in France when the Marquis de Lafayette brought him a message of unwelcome news from Virginia: His young daughter Lucy had died of whooping cough.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
It is followed by a loud ruckus up on deck: whooping and hollering, laughing and stomping.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
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.
