hoovered; hoovering; hoovers
chiefly British
1
transitive + intransitive
: to clean with a vacuum cleaner
hoovering the carpet
Once you've wiped down the surfaces and hoovered, giving the floor a good mop and watching that brilliant shine appear makes all the effort feel worthwhile.—
Nicola Roy
Nicola Roy2
a
: to take in by or as if by eating greedily : devour
The author keeps readers on the edge of their seats, constantly questioning Juniper's motives and the extent of her misdeeds. … I hoovered this in three nights as the plot twists and turns …—Heather Suttie
—often used with upHeather SuttieExtra pigs in blankets … bowls of nuts—basically put any food in front of us for the whole month of December and it will be hoovered up with next to no encouragement required!—Simon Duke
Simon Duke
b
: to gather or take possession of as if by suction
The model where banks hoovered hapless customers into their financial advice arms and fleeced them of every dollar they could was shut down …—Ben Butler
—often used with upBen ButlerA series of attacks initially stopped before a loose ball was hoovered up by Raff Hollister to touch down to the right of the posts.—The Rugby Paper
The Rugby PaperThe AI sector hoovered up 71 percent of all American venture capital investment in Q1 2025 according to research firm PitchBook.—Brian Contreras
Brian ContrerasExamples of hoover in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
James Folta, Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026
Now, those animals can cost as much as $1,500 as buyers hoover up calves to fatten them for slaughter.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 18 Feb. 2026
That’s hoovering up free cash flows and loading the companies with depreciating assets, radically altering many of the characteristics that have helped fuel the firms’ rise over the past decade.
—Bloomberg, Oc Register, 16 Feb. 2026
Now, those animals can cost as much as $1,500 as buyers hoover up calves to fatten them for slaughter.
—Enda Curran, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
Since 2007, the Land Report has tracked this more-is-better attitude through its annual ranking of America’s biggest landowners, with the surge in hoovering up vast tracts suggesting the country is entering a new era of mega-landownership.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 10 Feb. 2026
The spying operation was unusually vast and allowed the hackers to hoover up sensitive information in apparent coordination with geopolitical events, such as diplomatic missions, trade negotiations, political unrest and military actions, according to the report.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
Nexstar and Tegna are framing the deal as a dire one, with competition from Big Tech companies like Google and Amazon, who are hoovering up ad dollars, as well as from traditional media companies who have global ambitions of their own.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
Pro sports leagues, and some individual franchises, can’t hoover money from legal sportsbooks fast enough.
—John Shipley, Twin Cities, 25 Oct. 2025
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Verb
Their expert avatars included living and dead writers like Stephen King, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Carl Sagan, but their scraping was incredibly broad reaching and hoovered up more than just the big names.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 12 Mar. 2026
Now, those animals can cost as much as $1,500 as buyers hoover up calves to fatten them for slaughter.
—Bloomberg Wire, Dallas Morning News, 18 Feb. 2026
That’s hoovering up free cash flows and loading the companies with depreciating assets, radically altering many of the characteristics that have helped fuel the firms’ rise over the past decade.
—Bloomberg, Oc Register, 16 Feb. 2026
Now, those animals can cost as much as $1,500 as buyers hoover up calves to fatten them for slaughter.
—Enda Curran, Fortune, 15 Feb. 2026
Since 2007, the Land Report has tracked this more-is-better attitude through its annual ranking of America’s biggest landowners, with the surge in hoovering up vast tracts suggesting the country is entering a new era of mega-landownership.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 10 Feb. 2026
The spying operation was unusually vast and allowed the hackers to hoover up sensitive information in apparent coordination with geopolitical events, such as diplomatic missions, trade negotiations, political unrest and military actions, according to the report.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 5 Feb. 2026
Nexstar and Tegna are framing the deal as a dire one, with competition from Big Tech companies like Google and Amazon, who are hoovering up ad dollars, as well as from traditional media companies who have global ambitions of their own.
—Alex Weprin, HollywoodReporter, 18 Nov. 2025
Pro sports leagues, and some individual franchises, can’t hoover money from legal sportsbooks fast enough.
—John Shipley, Twin Cities, 25 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Hoover.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hoover. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationGeographical Definition
Biographical Definition
Hoover 1 of 2
biographical name (1)
Hoo·ver
ˈhü-vər 
Herbert Clark 1874–1964 31st president of the U.S. (1929–33)
Hoover
2 of 2biographical name (2)
J(ohn) Edgar 1895–1972 American F.B.I. director (1924–72)
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