Hooverville

noun

Hoo·​ver·​ville ˈhü-vər-ˌvil How to pronounce Hooverville (audio)
: a shantytown of temporary dwellings during the depression years in the U.S.
broadly : any similar area of temporary dwellings

Examples of Hooverville in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Our lead, Joe Rance (Callum Turner), trudges to campus from a Hooverville; later, the coach Al Ulbrickson (Joel Edgerton), pokes around his crew’s lockers to count the holes in their shoes. Amy Nicholson, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Hooverville.' 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

Herbert Hoover + -ville

First Known Use

1930, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Hooverville was in 1930

Dictionary Entries Near Hooverville

Cite this Entry

“Hooverville.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Hooverville. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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