hooky

1 of 2

noun

variants or less commonly hookey

hooky

2 of 2

adjective

hookier; hookiest
1
: curved or bent like a hook
Her nose was long and hooky, and she had no teeth—or if she had them, they weren't in her mouth.K. C. Constantine
His coal-black, glossy hair commanded and obtained her admiration, and she found his hooky nose to be handsome.Anthony Trollope
2
music : appealing and easy to remember : catchy
a hooky melody/tune/rhythm
… combining scintillating rhythm tracks with a kaleidoscope of hooky musical styles …Dave Marsh
Wild is a vibrant, hooky pop song flavored with Joni Mitchell illusions and funk.Nelson George
Phrases
play hooky or less commonly play hookey
US, informal
: to be away from school without permission
Out on the playground, a boy from another homeroom cavorted around on a dirt bike, doing wheelies. He was playing hooky, but evidently couldn't stay away.Tracy Kidder
When he was a small child [Babe] Ruth was a holy terror. He had incredible energy, was relentlessly active and was always in trouble. He played hooky from school. He stole fruits and vegetables from stores, threw them at truck-drivers and ran and hid from the police.Robert W. Creamer
He [Tom Sawyer] moped to school gloomy and sad, and took his flogging, along with Joe Harper, for playing hookey the day before, with the air of one whose heart was busy with heavier woes and wholly dead to trifles.Mark Twain
also : to be away from work or similar duties in a way likened to a child skipping school
Hawkins is a tanned, muscular man in his 40s who's playing hooky today from his job as a printer's ink chemist. Doug Stewart
Most New Yorkers were at work last Tuesday while the official ceremony was going on—and many of those who played hooky chose to go to the ticker-tape parade for the world champion New York Mets. David Gates
… in 1948 I once played hookey from my radio writing job with Edgar Bergen to play in the Santa Monica Open. Arthur Marx

Examples of hooky in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The inexorable decline in enrollment is exacerbated by a startling large number of students who may be enrolled but are chronically absent — what once was known as playing hooky. Dan Walters, The Mercury News, 9 Mar. 2024 Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn, Mark Chesnutt, Vince Gill, Reba McEntire and George Strait were among the talents who cut unabashedly country material that was melodic, hooky and frequently energetic. Tom Roland, Billboard, 21 Feb. 2024 Matthew Broderick inspired an entire generation of kids to be bad in John Hughes’ classic about hipster high schooler Ferris Bueller (Matthew Broderick) and his wacky, wild day playing hooky with his morose friend Cameron (Alan Ruck) and girlfriend Sloane (Mia Sara). Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 11 Jan. 2024 In the clip, SNL cast members Mikey Day, Ego Nwodim and Molly Kearney are feeling exhausted preparing for three episodes in a row, contemplating playing hooky and dropping out of the upcoming episode. Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 31 Jan. 2024 The irresistible old-school perreo track is signature Castro, who has a knack for delivering hooky songs — and his new track is no exception. Leila Cobo, Billboard, 14 July 2023 The mischievous Ferris decides to play hooky and ropes in his girlfriend Sloane and best friend Cameron for some fun. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 21 Feb. 2023 For a few weeks, Trump has made noises about playing hooky on debate day. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 4 May 2023 The 30-plus tournament boats were led out of Liberty Landing Marina in Jersey City, to the boca of the Hudson River and through New York City Harbor to the Verrazzano Bridge by NYPD officers who seemed to be having some good fun playing a little hooky on their patrol zodiacs. Monte Burke, Forbes, 5 June 2022
Adjective
But director Roshan Sethi gives the musical interludes some visual pop; and the songs are genuinely hooky. Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2023 And, of course, songs are hooky but have heart. Liza Lentini, SPIN, 29 July 2022 Ballard, the producer of Wilson Phillips and Paula Abdul, gave it a wall of sound; the melodies were hooky and lyrical. Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 17 Sep. 2021 The song is a hooky, upbeat jam with a pop-punk edge and lyrics about the trials and tribulations of love, with vocals from the duo’s Drew Taggart and a shimmery synth finish. Katie Bain, Billboard, 28 Jan. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hooky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably from slang hook, hook it to make off

First Known Use

Noun

1842, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1608, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hooky was in 1608

Dictionary Entries Near hooky

Cite this Entry

“Hooky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hooky. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hooky

noun
variants also hookey
plural hookies or hookeys
: truant
play hooky
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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