hoodoo

1 of 2

noun

hoo·​doo ˈhü-(ˌ)dü How to pronounce hoodoo (audio)
plural hoodoos
1
: a body of practices of sympathetic magic traditional especially among African Americans in the southern U.S.
2
: a natural column of rock in western North America often in fantastic form
3
: something that brings bad luck
4
hoodooism noun

hoodoo

2 of 2

verb

hoodooed; hoodooing; hoodoos

transitive verb

: to cast a spell on
broadly : to bring bad luck to

Examples of hoodoo in a Sentence

Noun some economists have characterized the proposal as economic hoodoo that should be hooted down some hoodoo must be at work—I lost both sets of house keys
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Around each bend are spire-like hoodoos shooting hundreds of feet skyward, deep dark caves and pastel-gray volcanic columns. Pete Zimowsky, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024 Where both Faulkner and Morrison are gothic, Ward is hoodoo. Imani Perry, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023 The next leg of our journey kicked off with drama: the sight of the sun rising over the giant pillar-like hoodoos, an eerie landscape leftover from the last Ice Age. Arati Menon, Condé Nast Traveler, 28 Oct. 2023 More national parks trip ideas Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah This park’s gravity-defying limestone spires — called hoodoos — appear even more delicate when snow dusts the reddish-orange rocks. Sarah L. Stewart, Travel + Leisure, 19 Oct. 2023 The cost of hoodoo’s balm, though, is a direct confrontation with loss. Imani Perry, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2023 The retreat is a great basecamp for exploring the otherworldly hoodoos (aka stunning natural rock formations) in nearby Bryce Canyon National Park. Brittany Anas, House Beautiful, 2 Sep. 2023 In the summer, hikers and bikers flock to the state’s national parks — Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion — to hike under red rock arches and bike between hoodoo formations. Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 11 July 2023 The hoodoos at Chiricahua National Monument in the Chiricahua Mountains in Southeastern Arizona lack the distinctive orange hue of Bryce Canyon, but are still numerous, striking and comparably crowd-free; the park received just over 600,000 visitors in 2022. Lauren Sloss, Chicago Tribune, 10 July 2023
Verb
Take two days to experience the best of the Paunsaugunt Plateau’s hoodoo rock spires. Jonathan Olivier, Outside Online, 10 Oct. 2022 It’s made with Agave de Cortes, King State espresso, hoodoo, and cinnamon. Amber Love Bond, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2022 Exploring the numerous phenomena is made easy thanks to a 7-mile, drivable loop that meanders through mind-bending cone, spatter, and hoodoo formations, some of which solidified in mid-flight as far back as 15,000 years ago. Sunset Magazine, 16 May 2022 Black women in particular have launched Black girl magik meetups, witchcraft conventions, hoodoo festivals and goth clothing lines. NBC News, 30 Oct. 2020 Real Madrid finally broke their Signal Iduna Park hoodoo at the seventh time of asking with a 3-1 over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. SI.com, 26 Sep. 2017

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

perhaps alteration of voodoo

First Known Use

Noun

1868, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1868, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hoodoo was in 1868

Dictionary Entries Near hoodoo

Cite this Entry

“Hoodoo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoodoo. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

hoodoo

noun
hoo·​doo
ˈhüd-ü
plural hoodoos
1
2
: something that brings bad luck
hoodoo verb
hoodooism
-ˌiz-əm
noun
Etymology

Noun

perhaps an altered form of voodoo

More from Merriam-Webster on hoodoo

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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