shoo

1 of 2

interjection

used especially in driving away an unwanted animal

shoo

2 of 2

verb

shooed; shooing; shoos

transitive verb

: to scare, drive, or send away by or as if by crying shoo
shooed us away from the kitchen

Examples of shoo in a Sentence

Verb We tried to help her, but she shooed us away. He shooed the cat out of the house.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
In 2018, Givens said she was escorted off of Belle Isle by state police for being at the James Scott Fountain at 10 p.m. and shooed away outside of Parc restaurant on Campus Martius one night. Detroit Free Press, 17 Feb. 2024 In one car, a man immediately shooed the washers away. Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, The Denver Post, 1 Feb. 2024 Cromwell would shoo people away, giving her privacy. Sharon Coolidge, The Enquirer, 25 Jan. 2024 In this particular ad, the bearded Kelce stood in a football fan’s living room, simultaneously trying to watch a game while shooing away a pesky cable installer, who was peering through the window and reaching into the popcorn bowl. Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023 Even after Hutchinson pointed out that all the cabins were on the same circular drive and clearly numbered, Gaetz persisted, until McCarthy shooed him away. Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 Two officers arrived a short time later and shooed the owl away by shining a flashlight in its eyes, Ms. Aaron said. Ed Shanahan, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024 Each acceptance speech was rushed, with many prominent people like Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma and Alan Wake director Sam Lake being shooed off the stage. Gene Park, Washington Post, 8 Dec. 2023 With the wind of a healthy amount of fresh Morgan Wallen tracks at his back, he was again shooed in for the top honor as the winners were announced Monday night in Nashville. Chris Willman, Variety, 6 Nov. 2023

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

Interjection

Middle English schowe

First Known Use

Interjection

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1798, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of shoo was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near shoo

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

shoo

verb
ˈshü
: to scare, drive, or send away by or as if by crying shoo
shooed everyone out of the kitchen
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