hook

¹hook

noun \ˈhu̇k\

Definition of HOOK

1

a : a curved or bent device for catching, holding, or pulling

b : something intended to attract and ensnare

c : anchor 1

2

: something curved or bent like a hook; especially plural : fingers

3

: a flight or course of a ball that deviates from straight in a direction opposite to the dominant hand of the player propelling it; also : a ball following such a course — compare slice

4

: a short blow delivered with a circular motion by a boxer while the elbow remains bent and rigid

5

: hook shot

6

: buttonhook

7

: quick or summary removal —used with get or give <the pitcher got the hook after giving up three runs>

8

: a device especially in music or writing that catches the attention

9

: a selling point or marketing scheme

10

: cradle 1b(2)

— by hook or by crook

: by any means

— off the hook

1

: out of trouble

2

: free of responsibility or accountability

— on one's own hook

: by oneself : independently

Examples of HOOK

1. She hit a hook into the left rough.
2. He threw a right hook to his opponent's body.

Origin of HOOK

Middle English, from Old English hōc; akin to Middle Dutch hoec fishhook, corner, Lithuanian kengė hook

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to HOOK

Synonyms

bang, bash, bat, beat, belt, biff, bop, box, buffet, bust, chop, clap, clip, clout, crack, cuff, dab, douse [British], fillip, hack, haymaker, hit, ¹blow, knock, larrup [dialect], lash, lick, pelt, pick, plump, poke, pound, punch, rap, slam, slap, slug, smack, smash, sock, spank, stinger, stripe, stroke, swat, swipe, switch, thud, thump, thwack, wallop, welt, whack, wham, whop (also whap)

Related Words

counter, counterblow, counterpunch, counterstroke; body blow, hand, kick, knee, left, one-two, rabbit punch, right, right-hander, roundhouse, shiver, sidewinder, sucker punch, swing, uppercut; cruncher, kayo, knockdown, knockout, KO; bastinado (or bastinade), battering, beating, bludgeoning, clobbering, cudgeling (or cudgelling), drubbing, hammering, lambasting, licking, pasting, pounding, pummeling (also pummelling), thrashing; flogging, walloping, whip, whipping

Other Hunting and Fishing Terms

chum, covert, creel, flense, pitfall, seine, skulk, spoor, trawl

Rhymes with HOOK

book, brook, chook, cook, Cook, crook, look, nook, rook, schnook, shook, snook, stook

²hook

verb

Definition of HOOK

transitive verb

1

: to form into a hook : crook

2

a : to seize or make fast by or as if by a hook

b : to connect by or as if by a hook —often used with up

3

: steal, pilfer

4

: to make (as a rug) by drawing loops of yarn, thread, or cloth through a coarse fabric with a hook

5

: to hit or throw (a ball) so that a hook results

intransitive verb

1

: to form a hook : curve

2

: to become hooked

3

: to work as a prostitute

Examples of HOOK

1. The train cars were hooked together.
2. My sweater was hooked on a branch.
3. I hooked the door shut.
4. The dress hooks in the back.
5. The two parts hooked together.
6. He hooked a large fish.
7. He hooked his arm around my neck.
8. She hooked her fingers around the doorknob.
9. He hooked his thumb through a loop of his pants.

First Known Use of HOOK

13th century

Related to HOOK

Synonyms

arch, bow, crook, curve, bend, swerve

Antonyms

straighten, unbend, uncurl

Related Words

arc, round; incurvate, incurve, inflect, reflect; deflect, divert; entwine, kink, swirl, turn, twine, twist, veer, warp; coil, curl, enroll (also enrol), loop, spiral; dent, dimple; meander, wave, weave, wind; decline, incline, slope

Near Antonyms

detach, disengage, divide, part, split; cleave, rupture, sever, sunder

hook

noun \ˈhu̇k\   (Medical Dictionary)

Medical Definition of HOOK

1

: an instrument used in surgery to take hold of tissue <a crypt hook> <a cordotomy hook>

2

: an anatomical part that resembles a hook