hooligan

hoo·li·gan | \ ˈhü-li-gən

plural hooligans

Definition of hooligan

: a usually young man who engages in rowdy or violent behavior especially as part of a group or gang : ruffian, hoodlum We had four great beefy hooligans on to us when Linton got his tooth knocked out.— P. G. Wodehouse "At school I ran with the hooligans and tried to act tough."— John Keen More recently the tabloid press dubbed English football hooligans "lager louts" as if it was the fizzy beer that was the problem rather than that many supporters were more interested in fighting than football.— Henry Jeffreys

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Examples of hooligan in a Sentence

The windows were broken by a gang of teenage hooligans. shouldn't you hooligans be in school instead of threatening old ladies?

Recent Examples on the Web New parking lots along the road will accommodate fishermen who previously lined the shoulders of the highway while dipnetting and fishing for hooligan. — Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News, "Seward Highway crash fatalities were father and young daughter, says Chugiak fire organization," 24 June 2020 But if you, like me, consider your blow-dryer among your five best friends, then there are solutions for hooligans like us. — Tatjana Freund, Marie Claire, "How to Make Your Hair Grow Faster, According to Hairstylists," 6 May 2020 Earlier this year, two hooligans in a Las Vegas parking garage were caught kicking a Model 3, and a woman in a parking garage in Australia was filmed keying the side of a Tesla. — Mihir Maddireddy, Car and Driver, "Tesla Sentry Mode Records Vandal Smashing Model 3's Window," 26 Feb. 2020 The first pride parade in Belgrade was organized in 2001 and participants were attacked by hooligans and ultranationalist groups. — BostonGlobe.com, "Serbian police intervene to protect gay pride parade - The Boston Globe," 16 Sep. 2019 The first pride parade in Belgrade was organized in 2001 and participants were attacked by hooligans and ultranationalist groups. — BostonGlobe.com, "Serbian police intervene to protect gay pride parade - The Boston Globe," 16 Sep. 2019 Inebriated fans and hooligans have wreaked havoc in past San Francisco sports celebrations, most notably in 2012 when vandals torched a $700,000 Muni bus after the Giants won the World Series. — Michael Cabanatuan, SFChronicle.com, "Super Bowl: San Francisco police, fire brace for fallout from 49ers-Chiefs clash," 31 Jan. 2020 While Sport mode is fun for playing a hooligan, Comfort is a better fit for this Mini day to day. — Elana Scherr, Car and Driver, "Mini's Countryman JCW SUV Finally Feels Special," 21 Jan. 2020 In such incidents, hooligans, spiteful and evil people, often enter the field and, sometimes, some youths, driven by emotion, accompany them and commit seditious acts. — Robin Wright, The New Yorker, "Could Iran’s Revolution Unravel Over a Four-Cent Price Hike?," 6 Dec. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hooligan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.