hoot 1[hoot] SynonymsExamplesWord Origin verb (used without object)
- to cry out or shout, especially in disapproval or derision.
- to utter the cry characteristic of an owl.
- to utter a similar sound.
- Chiefly British. to blow a horn or whistle; toot.
verb (used with object)
- to assail with shouts of disapproval or derision: The fans hooted the umpire.
- to drive out, off, or away by hooting.
- to express in hoots: The crowd hooted its disagreement with the speaker.
noun
- the cry of an owl.
- any similar sound, as an inarticulate shout.
- a cry or shout, especially of disapproval or derision.
- British. a horn, siren, or whistle, especially a factory whistle.
- Informal. the least bit of concern, interest, or thought; trifle: His religion doesn’t matter a hoot to me.
- Slang. an extremely funny person, situation, or event: Your cousin is such a hoot!
Idioms
- not give/care a hoot, Informal. to not care at all: I don’t give a hoot.Also not give/care two hoots.
Origin of hoot 1 1150–1200; Middle English hoten, huten, houten (verb); perhaps imitativeRelated formshoot·ing·ly, adverbun·hoot·ed, adjectiveSynonyms for hoot 1, 5. jeer, boo, hiss. 5. razz. Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019 Related Words for hooted jeer, boo, whistle, hiss, heckle, scream, howl, scorn, razz, catcall Examples from the Web for hooted Contemporary Examples of hooted
Anything that smacked of dissent from the war mania was hooted out of town.
Michael Tomasky
May 24, 2013
As a candidate, Washington was hooted down the steps of a Roman Catholic church.
Dirk Johnson
January 4, 2011
Historical Examples of hooted
They have not as much as had a birching; and I say that the college masters ought to be hooted.
Mrs. Henry Wood
He pictured to himself the whole scene; he saw her pursued, hooted at, reviled.
Emile Zola
At first he saw only a crowd of men and boys, who jeered and hooted.
C. Bryson Taylor
When its way was blocked, it hooted impatiently for passage.
Murray Leinster
The ambulance ran past and hooted at a cluster of police trucks.
Murray Leinster
British Dictionary definitions for hooted hoot 1 noun
- the mournful wavering cry of some owls
- a similar sound, such as that of a train whistle
- a jeer of derision
- informal an amusing person or thingthe weekend was a hoot
- not give a hoot not to care at all
verb
- (often foll by at) to jeer or yell (something) contemptuously (at someone)
- (tr) to drive (political speakers, actors on stage, etc) off or away by hooting
- (intr) to make a hoot
- (intr) British to blow a horn
Word Origin for hoot C13 hoten, of imitative origin hoot 2 hoots (huːts) interjection
- an exclamation of impatience or dissatisfaction: a supposed Scotticism
Word Origin for hoot C17: of unknown origin hoot 3 noun
- Australian and NZ a slang word for money
Word Origin for hoot from Māori utu price Collins English Dictionary – Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 Word Origin and History for hooted hoot v.
“to call or shout in disapproval or scorn,” c.1600, probably related to or from huten, “to shout, call out” (c.1200), probably ultimately imitative. First used of bird cries, especially that of the owl, mid-15c. Related: Hooted; hooting. As a noun from mid-15c. Meaning “a laugh, something funny” is first recorded 1942. Slang sense of “smallest amount or particle” (The hoot you don’t give when you don’t care) is from 1891.
“A dod blasted ole fool!” answered the captain, who, till now, had been merely an amused on-looker. “Ye know all this rumpus wont do nobuddy a hoot o’ good–not a hoot.” [“Alonge Traverse Shores,” Traverse City, Michigan, 1891]
Hooter in the same sense is from 1839.
HOOTER. Probably a corruption of iota. Common in New York in such phrases as “I don’t care a hooter for him.” “This note ain’t worth a hooter.” [John Russell Bartlett, “Dictionary of Americanisms,” 1877] Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper Idioms and Phrases with hooted hoot
see not give a damn (hoot).
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.