spook

verb

spooked; spooking; spooks

transitive verb

1

: haunt sense 1

2

: to make frightened or frantic : scare

especially : to startle into violent activity (such as stampeding)

intransitive verb

: to become spooked

cattle spooking at shadows

Synonyms of spook

• frighten
• scare
• terrify
• startle

Examples of spook in a Sentence

The noise spooked the cat.

The little girl was spooked by scary masks.

Recent Examples on the Web

But recently, the development of more powerful AI models has spooked some federal officials, prompting the White House to reverse course and back some safety measures. —Deepa Shivaram, NPR, 2 June 2026

Even before his conviction, his 2024 indictment spooked the industry and led some short sellers to beef up legal disclaimers. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 2 June 2026

The executive order comes as models like Anthropic’s Mythos have spooked government and Wall Street over security concerns. —Hadas Gold, CNN Money, 2 June 2026

Cars intentionally swerved close to spook him, sending him into the gravel more than once. —Christina Ray Stanton, Time, 2 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Rhymes for spook

• fluke
• juke
• kook
• luc
• luke
• nuke
• puke
• souk
• archduke
• rebuke
• caoutchouc

Kids Definition

spook

1 of 2 noun

ˈspük 

1

: ghost, specter

2

: spy entry 2 sense 2

spook

2 of 2 verb

: to make or become frightened : scare