hooted; hooting; hoots
1
: to shout or laugh usually derisively
2
: to make the natural throat noise of an owl or a similar cry
3
: to make a loud clamorous mechanical sound
1
: a sound of hooting
especially
: the cry of an owl
2
: a minimum amount or degree : the least bit
don't give a hoot
3
: something or someone amusing
the play is a real hoot
variants
or hoots
chiefly Scotland
—used to express impatience, dissatisfaction, or objection
Examples of hoot in a Sentence
Verb
We could hear an owl hooting in the woods.
I hooted at the car in front of me.
The crowd booed and hooted when it was announced that the show was canceled.
The crowd hooted its disapproval.
The speaker was hooted off the platform by a small group of protesters.
Noun
The announcement was met with hoots of derision.
the courtroom erupted in hoots of laughter upon hearing the witness's sarcastic retort to the lawyer's arrogant remark
Recent Examples on the Web
Ramin Setoodeh, Variety, 18 May 2024
The 12-year-old owl eluded the humans who tried to recapture him and quickly began to behave as his wild counterparts in Europe and Asia do, hunting, hooting and swooping through the city.
—Lauren Oster, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
Like The Wave at a baseball game, more and more people begin to clap and hoot.
—Levi Mandel, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Apr. 2024
The nocturnal owls don’t hoot but make strange screams and hissings sounds at night.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Apr. 2024
For over a year, Flaco spent his days lounging in parks and on fire escapes and hooting on top of water towers at night, NPR reported.
—USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024
Neighbors had recently spotted Flaco roosting on fire escapes during the day and hooting at night.
—Tracey Tully, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024
Republicans mostly avoided taking the bait of hooting back at Biden, at least until fairly late in the evening, but Democrats engaged energetically in order to keep the visual spectacle lively.
—Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 8 Mar. 2024
Many people think all owls make a hooting noise, but that is not the case.
—Megan Marples, CNN, 9 Feb. 2024
Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 May 2024
Despite the occasional hoot or holler in the audience, a hush crept over the amphitheater as Young sang, played plucky guitar and showcased his harmonica skills between verses.
—Audrey Gibbs, USA TODAY, 10 May 2024
That is an extremely high bar, though, and there are some pretty great apes: Teague's Noa grows on you because of his plight while Macon makes Raka a scene-stealing hoot with a kind soul.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
It was meant to be funny, because of course cutting off the testicles of young hogs usually without anesthetic is a real hoot.
—Robin Abcarian, The Mercury News, 4 May 2024
The Waylon Smithers Dancers and Hee Haw interstitials are a hoot, but memo to Fox: Don't be getting any ideas.
—EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
There was the buzz of girls gossiping, the hoots and hollers of prize-winning kids.
—Emily Ziff Griffin, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2024
Among the supporting characters, Aaron Choi is an absolute hoot as Iago, Jafar’s sidekick and yes man.
—Rick Mauch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Feb. 2024
For every 30-minute skin up the 7,000-foot-high glacier, I was rewarded with a cruise-y, five-minute descent in fresh powder and a chorus of my own hoots and hollers reverberating off the icy peaks.
—Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 3 Feb. 2024
Verb
Gomez wiped away tears as the Palais clapped for a full nine minutes, accompanied by plenty of hooting, whistling and cheering.
—Ramin Setoodeh, Variety, 18 May 2024
The 12-year-old owl eluded the humans who tried to recapture him and quickly began to behave as his wild counterparts in Europe and Asia do, hunting, hooting and swooping through the city.
—Lauren Oster, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Apr. 2024
Like The Wave at a baseball game, more and more people begin to clap and hoot.
—Levi Mandel, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Apr. 2024
The nocturnal owls don’t hoot but make strange screams and hissings sounds at night.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 1 Apr. 2024
For over a year, Flaco spent his days lounging in parks and on fire escapes and hooting on top of water towers at night, NPR reported.
—USA TODAY, 26 Mar. 2024
Neighbors had recently spotted Flaco roosting on fire escapes during the day and hooting at night.
—Tracey Tully, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024
Republicans mostly avoided taking the bait of hooting back at Biden, at least until fairly late in the evening, but Democrats engaged energetically in order to keep the visual spectacle lively.
—Dan McLaughlin, National Review, 8 Mar. 2024
Many people think all owls make a hooting noise, but that is not the case.
—Megan Marples, CNN, 9 Feb. 2024
Noun
And Clement’s Diamond is a hoot with his ‘60s-era London mod clothes and absurd facial hair.
—Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 May 2024
Despite the occasional hoot or holler in the audience, a hush crept over the amphitheater as Young sang, played plucky guitar and showcased his harmonica skills between verses.
—Audrey Gibbs, USA TODAY, 10 May 2024
That is an extremely high bar, though, and there are some pretty great apes: Teague's Noa grows on you because of his plight while Macon makes Raka a scene-stealing hoot with a kind soul.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 8 May 2024
It was meant to be funny, because of course cutting off the testicles of young hogs usually without anesthetic is a real hoot.
—Robin Abcarian, The Mercury News, 4 May 2024
The Waylon Smithers Dancers and Hee Haw interstitials are a hoot, but memo to Fox: Don't be getting any ideas.
—EW.com, 18 Mar. 2024
There was the buzz of girls gossiping, the hoots and hollers of prize-winning kids.
—Emily Ziff Griffin, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2024
Among the supporting characters, Aaron Choi is an absolute hoot as Iago, Jafar’s sidekick and yes man.
—Rick Mauch, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 Feb. 2024
For every 30-minute skin up the 7,000-foot-high glacier, I was rewarded with a cruise-y, five-minute descent in fresh powder and a chorus of my own hoots and hollers reverberating off the icy peaks.
—Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 3 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hoot.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Hoot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoot. Accessed 23 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hoot
1 of 2 verb1
: to utter a loud shout usually of scorn
2
: to make the characteristic call of an owl or a similar sound
3
: to drive out by hooting
hooter
noun
hoot
2 of 2 noun1
: a sound of hooting
especially
: the call of an owl
2
: a very small amount
don't give a hoot
3
: an amusing person or thing
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