ahoy
/əˈhɔɪ/interjection, verb, noun
ahoy is spelled A-H-O-Y: 4 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an interjection, ahoy means “Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in ahoy?
| Letters | 4: A-H-O-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 40,267th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is ahoy?
Ahoy appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 40,267th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ahoy?
- /əˈhɔɪ/
Ahoy has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Naomi_Persephone_Amethyst_(NaomiAmethyst)-ahoy.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ahoy.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with ahoy?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as ahoy.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: hoya.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of ahoy
- a-hoy
- ahoys present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- ahoying participle, present
- ahoyed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ahoy mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
interjection
- 1
Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention.
- 2
Warning of something approaching or impending.
Catalytic converters ahoy – Zeppelin's latest is one of those high-rev 3D driving games that simulates racing tracks from all over the world.
verb
- 1
To hail with a cry of "ahoy".
noun
- 1
An utterance of this interjection.
There were many ahoys heard from the approaching ship.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ahoy in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ahoy come from?
From a- + hoy (a nautical call used in hauling), from Middle English hoy (interjection), a greeting dating back to the fourteenth century. Compare Dutch hoi (“hi!, hello!”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).