as in thugs
a violent, brutal person who is often a member of an organized gang
when a gang of hoods started hanging out in front of the store, customers went elsewhere
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in cloaks
something that covers or conceals like a piece of cloth
counterfeiters conducting their affairs under a hood of secrecy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hoods
Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Cars line up at all hours, hoods serving as makeshift tables while drivers unwrap sandwiches still warm from the press.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 7 Mar. 2026
Like the hoods of two cars in a traffic accident, the continents crunched together, simultaneously shortening and flexing.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 6 Mar. 2026
Some relied on layers and keeping hoods up, while others said their mindset made all the difference.
—Eva Andersen, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
There are two cantilevered fireplaces with copper hoods.
—David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 7 Feb. 2026
Priests with brown cloaks and long hoods walked through it.
—Literary Hub, 2 Feb. 2026
Hanna Liden’s photographs reimagined the northern Romantic landscape tradition of Caspar David Friedrich and Vilhelm Hammershøi as populated by practitioners of the suburban occult, with figures in skull masks or Grim Reaper hoods dwarfed by moody vistas.
—Rachel Wetzler, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026
Here, a professional cleaner shares how to degrease almost any area of the kitchen—from range hoods to squeaky cabinets and more.
—Shagun Khare, The Spruce, 30 Jan. 2026
Noun
Graduate students in tie-dye shirts worked under fume hoods; on the glass that protected them from chemicals, synthesis reactions were scribbled in black marker.
—Clayton Dalton, New Yorker, 13 Mar. 2026
Cars line up at all hours, hoods serving as makeshift tables while drivers unwrap sandwiches still warm from the press.
—Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 7 Mar. 2026
Like the hoods of two cars in a traffic accident, the continents crunched together, simultaneously shortening and flexing.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 6 Mar. 2026
Some relied on layers and keeping hoods up, while others said their mindset made all the difference.
—Eva Andersen, CBS News, 9 Feb. 2026
There are two cantilevered fireplaces with copper hoods.
—David Caraccio, Sacbee.com, 7 Feb. 2026
Priests with brown cloaks and long hoods walked through it.
—Literary Hub, 2 Feb. 2026
Hanna Liden’s photographs reimagined the northern Romantic landscape tradition of Caspar David Friedrich and Vilhelm Hammershøi as populated by practitioners of the suburban occult, with figures in skull masks or Grim Reaper hoods dwarfed by moody vistas.
—Rachel Wetzler, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026
Here, a professional cleaner shares how to degrease almost any area of the kitchen—from range hoods to squeaky cabinets and more.
—Shagun Khare, The Spruce, 30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hoods.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hoods. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
