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hoot - What does it mean?

Definition of 'hoot'

English

Noun

(en-noun)
  • A derisive cry or shout.
  • The cry of an owl.
  • (US|slang) A fun event or person. (See hootenanny)
  • A small particle
  • * 1878 , John Hanson Beadle, Western Wilds, and the Men who Redeem Them , page 611, Jones Brothers, 1878
    • Well, it was Sunday morning, and the wheat nothing like ripe; but it was a chance, and I got onto my reaper and banged down every hoot of it before Monday night.

    Usage notes

    * (small particle) The term is nearly always encountered in a negative sense in such phrases as don't care a hoot'' or ''don't give two hoots . * (derisive cry) The phrase a hoot and a holler'' has a very different meaning to ''hoot and holler''. The former is a short distance, the latter is a verb of ''derisive cry .

    Verb

    (en-verb)
  • To cry out or shout in contempt.
  • * Dryden
    • Matrons and girls shall hoot at thee no more.
  • To make the cry of an owl.
  • * Shakespeare
    • the clamorous owl that nightly hoots
  • To assail with contemptuous cries or shouts; to follow with derisive shouts.
  • * Jonathan Swift
    • Partridge and his clan may hoot me for a cheat.

    See also

    * hooter * hootenanny

    Anagrams

    * ----

    Similar to 'hoot'

    het, hot, hut, hit, heat, hat, haut, hott, haet, hawt, hoit