Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
ho 1[hoh] ExamplesWord Origin interjection
- (used as a call to attract attention, sometimes specially used after a word denoting a destination): Westward ho! Land ho!
- (used as an exclamation of surprise or delight.)
Origin of ho 1 Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300 ho 2[hoh] interjection
- (used as a command to a horse to stop.)
Origin of ho 2 1300–50; Middle English Old French. See whoa ho 3or hoe [hoh] noun, plural hos, hoes, ho’s. Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
- a sexually promiscuous woman.
- a prostitute; whore.
- a woman.
Origin of ho 3First recorded in 1965–70; dialectal or Black English pronunciation of whore Ho Symbol, Chemistry.
HO [hoh] noun
- (in police use) habitual offender.
ho.
H.O.
- Head Office; Home Office.
Examples from the Web for ho Contemporary Examples of ho
Ho, 42, admitted that he had never stepped out of sight of the government minders but he insisted that was by choice.
North Korea’s Propaganda Art Exhibit in London
Nico Hines
November 6, 2014
The Twelfth Day of Christmas photo will be up on Christmas morning, a gift to everyone from folks who really know how to Ho!
Meet Butters, the Christmas Dog Model
Michael Daly
December 25, 2013
Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi was a communist dictator, for sure, but had a genuine following.
Is Obama Going to War Just to ‘Check the Box’?
Lloyd Green
August 31, 2013
But, he continued, they had read Mao, and Ho Chi Minh, and Giap, and Che.
What If the Iraq War Never Happened?
Michael Ware
March 20, 2013
In the 1960s, many in the New Left excused Fidel Castro and Ho Chi Minh because they battled American hegemony.
The Pro-Palestinian Left’s Hamas Blindspot
Peter Beinart
March 8, 2013
Historical Examples of ho
The night now was very dark, “with hey, ho, the wind and the rain!”
George MacDonald
It isn’t only what Baumberger thinks—I don’t know as ho’s got anything to say about it—it’s what I think.
B. M. Bower
If he had not said please he should have ho’d and hullo’d in vain, but at that word I turned.
George Washington Cable
Ho Sian Gu has a spoon, usually formed in the shape of a lotus-flower.
Various
Ho what a cutting thing it is, and yet what sweet sensations is awoke within me!’
Charles Dickens
British Dictionary definitions for ho ho 1 interjection
- Also: ho-ho an imitation or representation of the sound of a deep laugh
- an exclamation used to attract attention, announce a destination, etcwhat ho!; land ho!; westward ho!
Word Origin for ho C13: of imitative origin; compare Old Norse hó, Old French ho! halt! ho 2 noun
- US Black slang a derogatory term for a woman
Word Origin for ho C20: from Black or Southern US pronunciation of whore Ho the chemical symbol for
- holmium
HO H.O. abbreviation for
- head office
- British government Home Office
ho. abbreviation for
- house
Word Origin and History for ho interj.
exclamation of surprise, etc., c.1300; as an exclamation calling attention or demanding silence, late 14c. Used after the name of a place to which attention is called (cf. Westward-Ho) it dates from 1590s, originally a cry of boatmen, etc., announcing departures for a particular destination. Ho-ho-ho expressing laughter is recorded from mid-12c.
n.
by 1999, American English slang, representing a ghetto pronunciation of whore.
ho in Medicine Ho
- The symbol for the elementholmium
ho in Science Ho
- The symbol for holmium.
holmium [hōl′mē-əm] Ho
- A soft, silvery, malleable metallic element of the lanthanide series. Its compounds are highly magnetic. It is mainly used in scientific research but has also been used to make electronic devices. Atomic number 67; atomic weight 164.930; melting point 1,461°C; boiling point 2,600°C; specific gravity 8.803; valence 3. See Periodic Table.