alley oop
/al.ɪˈuːp/
"alley-oop" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“alley oop” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an interjection. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Encouraging or calling attention to a physical performance, especially one involving an upwards lift or leap.
Corpus desk
Index EN-alley-oop · alley oop · English
alley oop · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "A" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | alley oop |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Interjection |
| IPA | /al.ɪˈuːp/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “alley oop” in English
Rare enough to double-check
alley oop is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as aninterjection, transcribed /al.ɪˈuːp/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Encouraging or calling attention to a physical performance, especially one involving an upwards lift or leap.".
alley oop has no tracked misspelling variants, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from French allez-hop!, the cry of a circus acrobat about to leap. From allez (“go! let's go!”), 2nd-person plural or formal indicative form of aller, and hop, onomatopoeic. The correct English form is alley oop, spelled A-L-L-E-Y- -O-O-P.
Definition
- 1Encouraging or calling attention to a physical performance, especially one involving an upwards lift or leap.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how alley oop appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
I fortunately found a spark plug on the burn and got that repaired and alley oop!
He lifted her onto the verandah, crying “Allee-oops!”
Etymology
Borrowed from French allez-hop!, the cry of a circus acrobat about to leap. From allez (“go! let's go!”), 2nd-person plural or formal indicative form of aller, and hop, onomatopoeic.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.