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whoop

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whoop¹

  • /wuːp/
  • /ʍuːp/
  • /wʊp/
  • /huːp/

Sounds like hoop (for one pronunciation of the noun and the associated intransitive verb) · Rhymes with -uːp

Where it comes from

From Middle English whopen, whowpen, howpen, houpen (“to whoop, cry out”), partially from Old French houper, hopper, houpper (“to shout”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwōpan, from Proto-Germanic *hwōpaną (“to boast, threaten”) (compare Gothic 𐍈𐍉𐍀𐌰𐌽 (ƕōpan, “to boast”), Old English hwōpan (“to threaten”)); and partially from Middle English wop (“weeping, lamentation”), from Old English wōp (“cry, outcry, shrieking, weeping, lamentation”), from Proto-West Germanic *wōp, from Proto-Germanic *wōpaz (“shout, cry, wail”) (compare Old Norse ópa (“to cry, scream, shout”), Gothic 𐍅𐍉𐍀𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wōpjan, “to cry out”)).

noun whoops · hoop · howp

  1. A loud, eager cry, usually of joy. Mixed with the whoop of the crane and the roar of the grim alligator.
  2. A gasp, characteristic of whooping cough.
  3. A bump on a racetrack. .

verb whoops · whooping · whooped · hoop · howp

  1. intransitive To make a whoop. each whooping with a merry shout
  2. transitive To shout, to yell. I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan.
  3. To cough or breathe with a sonorous inspiration, as in whooping cough.
  4. obsolete, transitive To insult with shouts; to chase with derision. And suffered me by the voice of slaves to be / Whooped out of Rome.

whoop²

  • /wʊp/
  • /ʍʊp/

Where it comes from

From a traditional African American and Southern US pronunciation of whip.

verb whoops · whooping · whooped · whup

  1. informal, transitive To beat, to strike.
  2. informal, transitive To defeat thoroughly.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: hack, doo, kick, whip, woop, whoop-de-doo, whoop-de-do, whoopla, whoop-dee-doo, hoop, whoo-hoop, whoopy-do, whoopy do, whoopy-doo, hooray, big whoop

Translations

Every language

noun An exclamation, a cry, usually of joy

Françaishurlement
Italianogrido, urlo
Românăurlet
Русскийво́зглас vózglas, вы́крик výkrik

noun A gasp, characteristic of whooping cough

Italianourlo della pertosse
Русскийка́шель kášelʹ

verb to make a whoop

Françaishurler

verb to insult with shouts; to chase with derision

Русскийги́кать gíkatʹ, улюлю́кать uljuljúkatʹ

verb to beat, to strike

Italianopicchiare, colpire
Русскийколоти́ть kolotítʹ, поколоти́ть pokolotítʹ

verb to defeat thoroughly

Italianoannientare
Русскийразгроми́ть razgromítʹ

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Cite this
MLA

"whoop." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/whoop. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

whoop. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/whoop

Chicago

"whoop." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/whoop.

BibTeX
@misc{whoop_2026,
  title = {whoop},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/whoop},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}