hoe [hoh] ExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for hoe on Thesaurus.com noun
- a long-handled implement having a thin, flat blade usually set transversely, used to break up the surface of the ground, destroy weeds, etc.
- any of various implements of similar form, as for mixing plaster or mortar.
verb (used with object), hoed, hoe·ing.
- to dig, scrape, weed, cultivate, etc., with a hoe.
verb (used without object), hoed, hoe·ing.
- to use a hoe.
Origin of hoe 1325–75; Middle English howe Old French houe Germanic; compare Middle Dutch houwe, Old High German houwa mattock; akin to hew Related formsho·er, nounhoe·like, adjectiveun·hoed, adjective Hoe [hoh] noun
- Richard,1812–86, U.S. inventor and manufacturer of printing-press equipment.
- his fatherRobert,1784–1833, U.S. manufacturer of printing presses.
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 Related Words for hoe unearth, search, shovel, drill, dredge, discover, penetrate, exhume, bulldoze, scoop, sift, burrow, clean, enter, uncover, bore, gouge, harvest, excavate, plow Examples from the Web for hoe Contemporary Examples of hoe
I think that this is a very tough row to hoe, an a transformation that will take place over decades if it happens at all.
Megan McArdle
February 21, 2013
In a category called “About Cleveland” it reads: “im a hoe and I sleep with anybody and anything that has a DIKK.”
The Texas Gang Rape Dividing a Town
Christine Pelisek
March 13, 2011
Historical Examples of hoe
And send some of the boys up here to help me hoe out a little.
B. M. Bower
Michael and Uli had to hoe the weeds in the next field near by.
What Sami Sings with the Birds
Johanna Spyri
They only know the ground they hoe, but not such a thing as this.
What Sami Sings with the Birds
Johanna Spyri
But when Sami tried to do this, the hoe was too heavy for him, and he could do nothing.
What Sami Sings with the Birds
Johanna Spyri
Then, as we say out West, I suppose she had a pretty hard row to hoe?
In a Steamer Chair and Other Stories
Robert Barr
British Dictionary definitions for hoe hoe noun
- any of several kinds of long-handled hand implement equipped with a light blade and used to till the soil, eradicate weeds, etc
verb hoes, hoeing or hoed
- to dig, scrape, weed, or till (surface soil) with or as if with a hoe
Derived Formshoer, nounhoelike, adjectiveWord Origin for hoe C14: via Old French houe from Germanic: compare Old High German houwā, houwan to hew, German Haue hoe 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
Word Origin and History for hoe n.
mid-14c., from Old French houe (12c.), from Frankish *hauwa, from Proto-Germanic *hawwan (cf. Old High German houwa “hoe, mattock, pick-axe,” German Haue), from PIE *kau- “to hew, strike” (see hew). The verb is first recorded early 15c. Related: Hoed; hoeing.
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.
ho n.
by 1999, American English slang, representing a ghetto pronunciation of whore.
hoe in Medicine Ho
- The symbol for the elementholmium
hoe in Science Ho
- The symbol for holmium.
Idioms and Phrases with hoe hoe
see tough row to hoe.