1
2
: a small board or metal sheet with a handle on the underside used to hold mortar
3
: one who takes a militant or combative attitude (as in a dispute) and advocates immediate vigorous action
especially
: a supporter of a war or warlike policy compare dove entry 1
hawked; hawking; hawks
1
: to hunt birds by means of a trained hawk (see hawk entry 1 sense 1) : to practice falconry
2
: to soar and strike like a hawk (see hawk entry 1 sense 1)
birds hawking after insects
: to hunt (someone or something) in flight like a hawk (see hawk entry 1 sense 1)
hawking insects
hawked; hawking; hawks
1
: to raise by trying to clear the throat
hawk up phlegm
2
informal
: to forcefully spit out (something, such as phlegm) : hock entry 5
hawk a loogie
: to utter a harsh guttural sound in or as if in trying to clear the throat
: an audible effort to force up phlegm from the throat
hawked; hawking; hawks
: to offer (something) for sale by calling out in the street
hawking newspapers
broadly
: sell
Synonyms
Noun (1)
Verb (3)
Examples of hawk in a Sentence
Noun (1)
the hawks were claiming that without war there could be no peace
Verb (3)
a determined bootstrapper who went from hawking newspapers on the street corner to running a media empire
Recent Examples on the Web
Finian Curran/queens University News Service, Charlotte Observer, 9 May 2024
China hawks and domestic mining officials voiced their displeasure at the final rule.
—Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 6 May 2024
Rehabilitation centers have detected some cases in hawks and owls.
—Clara Migoya, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2024
But on a symbolic level, Nicaragua provided American hawks with an opportunity to exorcise the ghost of defeat in Vietnam.
—TIME, 2 May 2024
Itineraries for nature enthusiasts include falconry, hawk walks, and visits to the nature center.
—Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 2 May 2024
In justifying the push for drone swarms, China hawks in Washington offer this scenario: Beijing invades Taiwan then stymies U.S. intervention efforts with waves of air and sea drones that deny American and allied planes, ships and troops a foothold.
—Frank Bajak, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
The two were friends and were both defense hawks, advocating for a muscular U.S. posture abroad.
—Melissa Gaffney, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2024
Scaring them with hawks is certainly more polite than shooting them.
—Tove Danovich, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024
Longreads, 10 May 2024
Having missed their border appointment, Guerrero and his traumatized family caught a ride to the Mexican city of Monterrey and found work hawking sweets and peanuts.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
Online merchants are aggressively hawking gold beans.
—Claire Fu, New York Times, 5 May 2024
The visit had all the trademarks of his previous stops in Michigan, including vendors hawking Trump hats, T-shirts and flags.
—John Wisely, Detroit Free Press, 2 May 2024
Deepfakes and other deceptions, including manipulated images of Trump serving breakfast at a Waffle House and Elon Musk hawking cryptocurrency, are quickly unmasked and discredited.
—Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2024
Recent advertisers on Truth Social include groups like Patriots for America, a group hawking Trump hats, and USA Gear, selling American flag hoodies.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2024
Arab governments should shut down websites hawking synthetic drugs, driving users onto the Dark Web, where fewer will be able to locate sellers.
—Vanda Felbab-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 11 Apr. 2024
Locals were gathering salt to hawk to passing cod-fishing traders from Newfoundland and New England, who used it to stop shipboard meat from rotting too quickly.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
Noun
The margins between building foundations and bushes provide mostly quiet pathways, access to food sources, shelter from weather and cover from predators such as hawks and owls.
—Finian Curran/queens University News Service, Charlotte Observer, 9 May 2024
China hawks and domestic mining officials voiced their displeasure at the final rule.
—Dylan Sloan, Fortune, 6 May 2024
Rehabilitation centers have detected some cases in hawks and owls.
—Clara Migoya, The Arizona Republic, 3 May 2024
But on a symbolic level, Nicaragua provided American hawks with an opportunity to exorcise the ghost of defeat in Vietnam.
—TIME, 2 May 2024
Itineraries for nature enthusiasts include falconry, hawk walks, and visits to the nature center.
—Lindsay Cohn, Travel + Leisure, 2 May 2024
In justifying the push for drone swarms, China hawks in Washington offer this scenario: Beijing invades Taiwan then stymies U.S. intervention efforts with waves of air and sea drones that deny American and allied planes, ships and troops a foothold.
—Frank Bajak, Quartz, 12 Apr. 2024
The two were friends and were both defense hawks, advocating for a muscular U.S. posture abroad.
—Melissa Gaffney, ABC News, 27 Mar. 2024
Scaring them with hawks is certainly more polite than shooting them.
—Tove Danovich, The Atlantic, 15 Mar. 2024
Verb
Apparently, hawking seasoned salt—as well as gun silencers, knives, and jiujitsu clinics.
—Longreads, 10 May 2024
Having missed their border appointment, Guerrero and his traumatized family caught a ride to the Mexican city of Monterrey and found work hawking sweets and peanuts.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024
Online merchants are aggressively hawking gold beans.
—Claire Fu, New York Times, 5 May 2024
The visit had all the trademarks of his previous stops in Michigan, including vendors hawking Trump hats, T-shirts and flags.
—John Wisely, Detroit Free Press, 2 May 2024
Deepfakes and other deceptions, including manipulated images of Trump serving breakfast at a Waffle House and Elon Musk hawking cryptocurrency, are quickly unmasked and discredited.
—Jeffrey Fleishman, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2024
Recent advertisers on Truth Social include groups like Patriots for America, a group hawking Trump hats, and USA Gear, selling American flag hoodies.
—Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 16 Apr. 2024
Arab governments should shut down websites hawking synthetic drugs, driving users onto the Dark Web, where fewer will be able to locate sellers.
—Vanda Felbab-Brown, Foreign Affairs, 11 Apr. 2024
Locals were gathering salt to hawk to passing cod-fishing traders from Newfoundland and New England, who used it to stop shipboard meat from rotting too quickly.
—Sean Kingsley, Smithsonian Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hawk.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near hawk
Cite this Entry
“Hawk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hawk. Accessed 17 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
hawk
2 of 4 verb
: to hunt birds by means of a trained hawk
hawk
3 of 4 verb
: to offer for sale by calling out in the street
hawk vegetables
hawk
4 of 4 verb1
: to make a harsh coughing sound in or as if in clearing the throat
2
: to raise by hawking
hawk up phlegm
Etymology
Noun
Old English hafoc "hawk"
Verb
back-formation from 2hawker
Medical Definition
hawk
1 of 2 transitive verb
: to raise by trying to clear the throat
hawk up phlegm
: to make a harsh coughing sound in clearing the throat
hawk
2 of 2 noun
: an audible effort to force up phlegm from the throat
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