Hoe or whore?
hoe is a noun meaning “An agricultural and horticultural hand tool consisting of a long handle with a…”; whore is a noun meaning “Synonym of prostitute: a person (especially a woman) who offers sexual services…”. In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) whore is about 4.1 times as common as hoe.
What is the difference between hoe and whore?
| hoe | whore | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | An agricultural and horticultural hand tool consisting of a long handle with a flat blade fixed perpendicular to it at the end, used for digging rows or… Any of several implements or machines usually called by their more specific names, for example, backhoe To cut, dig, scrape, turn, arrange, or clean, with this tool | |
| Example | For their organic row crops, they do the weeding with hoes. They get in there often, but it goes fast, and the weeds never get ahead | I come looking for a job But I get no offers Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue |
| Forms | hoes | whores |
| Pronunciation | /həʊ/ /hoʊ/ /həʉ/ | /hɔː/ /hɔɚ/ /ho(ː)ɚ/ |
| In writing | 1.8 times per million words | 7.2 times per million words |
Sources: hoe and whore in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of hoe and whore
hoe
- 1
An agricultural and horticultural hand tool consisting of a long handle with a flat blade fixed perpendicular to it at the end, used for digging rows or removing weeds by hand
For their organic row crops, they do the weeding with hoes. They get in there often, but it goes fast, and the weeds never get ahead
- 2
To cut, dig, scrape, turn, arrange, or clean, with this tool
to hoe the earth in a garden
- 3
derogatoryslangAlternative spelling of ho (“whore, prostitute”)
- 4
USslangAlternative spelling of ho (“to prostitute”)
- 5
A piece of land that juts out towards the sea; a promontory
- 6
The horned or piked dogfish, Squalus acanthias
- 7
Any of several implements or machines usually called by their more specific names, for example, backhoe
The grading is on hold. In the meantime, get that hoe over here and work on this utility trench. [Instructions issued to a worker who will operate a backhoe]
- 8
To clear from weeds, or to loosen or arrange the earth about, with a hoe
to hoe corn
whore
- 1
derogatoryvulgarSynonym of prostitute: a person (especially a woman) who offers sexual services for payment
I come looking for a job But I get no offers Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue
- 2
derogatoryvulgarTo prostitute oneself
- 3
derogatoryvulgarA person who is sexually promiscuous; a slut
- 4
derogatoryvulgarTo engage the services of a prostitute
- 5
derogatoryvulgarA person who is unscrupulous, especially one who compromises their principles for gain
- 6
derogatoryvulgarTo pimp; to pander
- 7
derogatoryvulgarA person who will violate behavioral standards to achieve something desired
- 8
derogatoryvulgarTo promote shamelessly
Did you see him on that chat show, whoring his new book?
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, hoe or whore?
hoe appears 1.8 times per million words; whore 7.2 times per million words.
hoe 1.8 times per million wordswhore 7.2 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How many people search hoe vs whore?
“hoe vs whore” is searched about 20 times a month on Bing (Google reports it together with close variants, so it has no figure of its own) in the United States.
Sources: Google Ads keyword data through DataForSEO and Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, the average month from September 2025 to August 2026.