hoot
English · Thesaurus
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hoot¹
- /huːt/
- /hʉːt/ Australia
- [hïɯt] Australia
Rhymes with -uːt
Where it comes from
From Middle English houten, huten, hoten, assumed to be of North Germanic origin: Swedish hut! (“begone!”, interjection) (also dialectal Norwegian hut, Bornholm Danish hut, hot), Swedish huta (“to drive someone away (with calls)”), Old Swedish huta (“to cast out in contempt”), related to Swedish hojta (“to holler”), hojt (“a holler”), further related to Middle High German hiuzen, hūzen (“to call to pursuit”). Swedish hut is the common command to call off and silence barking (hunting) dogs on the pursuit. Compare Swedish veta hut (“know one's place, like a dog”, literally “to know 'hoot' (the command)”).
The Middle High German terms could suggest an earlier Proto-Germanic (hunting dog command?) *hūt- (“to command barking en pursuit?”). Maybe cognate to shout?
Ultimately onomatopoeic. Compare Old Norse hutututu (“brr”), Norwegian hutra, Swedish huttra, huttla, Danish hudre, Low German hudern, German huttern (“to shiver”).
Further compare English hoy, Dutch hui, Low German hoi, Norwegian hoi, Swedish hoj, Danish hoj, huj (“ho, hallo”).
noun hoots
- A derisive cry or shout. My performance drew hoots of derision from the crowd.
- The cry of an owl. I heard the hoot of an owl. Whoo, whoo!
- A fun event or person. The party at the weekend was such a hoot! Thanks for the invite.
-
A small particle; a whit or jot.
We don't care a hoot about what you think.
Similar: hooter, ace, atom, thought, atomy, aught, bissel, continental, bit, crumb, glimpse, dab
verb hoots · hooting · hooted
- To cry out or shout in contempt. Matrons and girls shall hoot at thee no more,
- To make a hoo, the cry of an owl. The clamorous owl that nightly hoots and wonders / At our quaint spirits.
- To assail with contemptuous cries or shouts; to follow with derisive shouts. Mary felt extremely offended when the workers hooted at her.
- To sound the horn of a vehicle. When you arrive to pick me up, hoot, and I'll come outside.
hoot²
- /huːt/
- /hʉːt/ Australia
- [hïɯt] Australia
Rhymes with -uːt
Where it comes from
A variant of utu (influenced by etymology 1), borrowed from Māori utu (“payment, revenge, payback”).
noun
-
Money, especially in the form of cash given as payment.
On the construction you could make a pot of hoot in no time. You oughter be able to get two or three quid a day when things is busy.
Similar: ackers, bees and honey, blunt, bones, brass, bread, bread and honey, Bugs Bunny, cake, cheddar, cheese, ching
Hoot³
proper noun Hoots
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: hiss, boo, bronx cheer, darn, shit, snort, damn, bird, raspberry, razzing, shucks, whoo, funny, joker, fun, pant
Translations
Every language
noun derisive cry or shout
| Español | ululato, grito, chillo |
|---|---|
| Français | huées |
| Deutsch | Johlen, Gejohle |
| Русский | ги́канье gíkanʹje, улюлю́канье uljuljúkanʹje, у́ханье úxanʹje |
noun cry of an owl
| Español | ululato, grito, chillo |
|---|---|
| Français | hululement, ululement |
| Deutsch | Schrei, Ruf, Geschrei, Heulen |
| Italiano | ululo |
| Русский | у́ханье úxanʹje |
noun fun event, blast
| Español | pera, polla, risión, bacilón, bacilongo, vacilón |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Spaßveranstaltung, Spaßmacher |
verb To cry out or shout in contempt
| 日本語 | 野次る yajiru |
|---|---|
| Français | huer |
| Русский | ги́кать gíkatʹ, улюлю́кать uljuljúkatʹ, у́хать úxatʹ |
verb To make the cry of an owl
| Español | ulular |
|---|---|
| Français | hululer, ululer, bubuler, boubouler |
| Deutsch | rufen |
| Русский | у́хать úxatʹ |
verb To sound the horn of a vehicle
| Deutsch | hupen |
|---|
Talk about this word "hoot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hoot. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. hoot. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hoot "hoot." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hoot.Cite this
@misc{hoot_2026,
title = {hoot},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hoot},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
