noose

1 of 2

noun

ˈnüs 

1

: a loop with a slipknot that binds closer the more it is drawn

2

: something that snares like a noose

noose

2 of 2

verb

noosed; noosing

transitive verb

1

: to secure by a noose

2

: to make a noose in or of

Synonyms

Noun

• entanglement
• mesh(es)
• morass
• net
• quagmire
• quicksand
• snare
• tanglement
• toil(s)
• trap
• web

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The parent objected in part to racial slurs used in the film, depictions of a child placing a noose around a doll’s neck and characters threatening a hanging. —Nicole Chavez, CNN, 29 Mar. 2023

The clip showed Claire with a noose around her neck; Brianna Randall Fraser, played by Sophie Skelton, giving birth to her second child; and a soldier tearing down a copy of The Declaration of Independence. —Samantha Stutsman, Peoplemag, 17 Mar. 2023

Strategically, Guadalcanal marked the Allies’ transition from defensive to offensive operations in the Pacific, securing a base in the Solomon Islands for attacks on Japanese strongholds in Rabaul, Saipan and Iwo Jima as the noose closed around Japan’s home islands. —Robert D. Mcfadden, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2022

The photo also included Teresa Weldy, an assistant professor of management, who was holding up a noose. —Tandra Smith | [e-mail], al, 7 July 2022

Exxon wasn't able to determine who left the nooses, and the company recommended additional steps to remedy racial harassment in the workplace, the suit states. —Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 3 Mar. 2023

Actor Jussie Smollett is standing trial in Chicago for allegedly faking a hate crime in late January 2019, after telling police and the media that two men had hit him, hung a noose around his neck and yelled a pro-Donald Trump slogan along with racist and antigay slurs. —Joe Barrett, WSJ, 2 Dec. 2021

Lincoln appears on stilts; dancers representing the formerly enslaved enter with broken chains and a noose, and do a kick line. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 15 Nov. 2021

An effigy of a Chinese man swung from a noose. —oregonlive, 25 Nov. 2022

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Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English nose, of uncertain origin

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

circa 1604, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing noose

• tighten the noose
• slip noose

• tighten the noose
• slip noose

Kids Definition

noose

noun

ˈnüs

: a loop that passes through a knot at the end of a line so that it gets smaller when the other end of the line is pulled