honk [hongk, hawngk] ExamplesWord Origin noun
- the cry of a goose.
- any similar sound, as of an automobile horn.
verb (used without object)
- to emit a honk.
- to cause an automobile horn to sound: He drove up in front of the house and honked.
verb (used with object)
- to cause (an automobile horn) to sound: The driver honked his horn impatiently.
Origin of honk An Americanism dating back to 1790–1800; imitative Related Words for honked beep, blare, sound, blast, blow, tootle Examples from the Web for honked Contemporary Examples of honked
As he walked to his car and I turned right onto Fairfax Avenue, I honked my horn.
Michael Hastings’ Hunger for Life
Jack Gray
June 14, 2014
Groups of young people in cars waved flags out their sunroofs and honked their horns in victory.
Sunset for Misha? Georgia’s Pro-Western Mikheil Saakashvili Defeated by Pro-Russian Challenger
Anna Nemtsova
October 2, 2012
In the distance, drivers coming up the hill from Georgetown honked in support of Pussy Riot.
Amnesty International’s Pussy Riot Concert: Balaclavas and Punk Rockers
Robin Givhan
August 13, 2012
Historical Examples of honked
A chauffeur at the mouth of the alley counted the flashes, and honked his horn.
Johnston McCulley
We tooted our horn and honked up its western side to the Potteries.
From Gretna Green to Land’s End
Katharine Lee Bates
Lefty, driving up to the curb to pick up Mack, honked also for Tim.
Helen Diehl Olds
A Mexican came out when Blake honked the horn, and filled the tank sullenly.
Emily Hahn
The Skin, mostly lung-sac and voice organs, honked its warning.
Philip Jos Farmer
British Dictionary definitions for honked honk noun
- a representation of the sound made by a goose
- any sound resembling this, esp a motor horn
- British and Australian slang a bad smell
verb
- to make or cause (something) to make such a sound
- (intr) British a slang word for vomit
- British and Australian slang to have a bad smell
Word Origin and History for honked honk n.
cry of a goose, 1814, American English, imitative. As a verb by 1854, of geese; the sense of “sound a horn,” especially on an automobile, first recorded 1895 in American English. Related: Honked; honking.