hoot 1 of 2

Definition of hootnext
1
as in shout
a loud vocal expression of strong emotion the courtroom erupted in hoots of laughter upon hearing the witness's sarcastic retort to the lawyer's arrogant remark

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2
as in snort
a vocal sound made to express scorn or disapproval he ignored the hoots and jeers coming from the back of the crowd and kept on speaking until he'd had his say

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3
4
as in scream
someone or something that is very funny that stand-up comic is a hoot

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hoot

2 of 2

verb

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hoot
Noun
This area Down Under is known as the Top End and its irrepressible quirkiness is a real hoot. Norma Meyer, Oc Register, 26 Nov. 2025 Sounds like a hoot… or a gobble. Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 25 Nov. 2025
Verb
The room had cinderblock walls, a concrete slab floor and two rows of about 10 cages that were raised about waist high, each containing a chimpanzee in a near-frenzied state, hooting and shaking his or her metal enclosure. Ron Arias, PEOPLE, 5 Oct. 2025 Look no further than Kristina for the first player to hoot and holler about… snakes? Nick Caruso, TVLine, 24 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hoot
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hoot
Noun
  • Normally, scent voices are mere whispers compared to the screams and angry shouts of humans, but in that section, certain sensitive plant species shrieked incessantly because of their proximity to plants that hindered their growth.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 7 Jan. 2026
  • Chowhouse also gave a shout out to Nimki, a pop up brand by Beard Award finalist for Emerging Chef was Nikhil Naiker, that will move from Courtland Club to Club Frills this January.
    Rin Velasco, The Providence Journal, 6 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • The Rodents of Unusual Size that attack Westley in a swamp work because they are played by small men in rodent suits, rather than coolly conjured from pixels; their deliberate artifice is the thrill, and Reiner provided the voice for their hideous snorts.
    Alexandra Schwartz, New Yorker, 17 Dec. 2025
  • The page gave a deep snort, hocking a chartreuse wad against the root of the nightingale’s birch.
    Hazlitt, Hazlitt, 19 Nov. 2025
Noun
  • But does anyone worth a damn really want to go to Madison right now?
    Manny Navarro, New York Times, 24 Dec. 2025
  • Even for those in the North who didn’t care a damn for the four million held in brutal bondage, or those who wanted a soft, conciliatory approach, the war began to take on new and moral meaning.
    Jack Sheehan September 4, Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Passengers aboard a taxiing aircraft were reportedly left horrified last month when chilling screams suddenly echoed from beneath the cabin just moments before takeoff.
    Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 14 Jan. 2026
  • The car chase, the chokehold, his own screams at the officers to leave his dad alone.
    Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 13 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • With the entire team waiting on a nearby bus, a member of the team’s security staff hollers for Antetokounmpo to rejoin his team en route to the hotel.
    Sam Amick, New York Times, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Cowboy and cowgirl hoots and hollers complement the rumbling of the massive animals’ hooves as they’re rounded up into the corrals.
    Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 28 Dec. 2025
Verb
  • Miss Manners is not trying to insult you herself.
    Judith Martin, Mercury News, 17 Jan. 2026
  • As the President insults allies, woos dictators, and spurns long-standing commitments, Rubio has to convince his counterparts that America will not entirely abandon its friends.
    Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • The year's first full moon is best known as the wolf moon since the howls of wolves were more likely to be heard during winter, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac.
    Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 2 Jan. 2026
  • There is a howl whipping through the bare trees.
    Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 17 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • McDonald’s is spreading a little festive sneer this holiday season with the release of a brand-new menu inspired by Dr. Seuss’s The Grinch.
    Jack Beresford, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025
  • Burnett tried several versions in a row: first deadpan, then with a sneer of sarcasm, pursing her lips in judgment.
    Rachel Syme, New Yorker, 29 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hoot.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoot. Accessed 22 Jan. 2026.

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