# hoodoo

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhuːduː/ · frequency rank #49,988

## Definitions
1. A set of spiritual practices and traditions created and concealed from slave-owners by enslaved Africans in North America, based on traditional African beliefs.
2. A practitioner of voodoo.
3. Supernatural bad luck, or something or someone believed to bring bad luck.
4. A tall thin spire of rock that protrudes from the bottom of arid basins and badlands.

## Etymology
Apparently an alteration of voodoo.

## Easily confused with
- **hoods** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hoodoo-vs-hoods)
- **hotdog** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hoodoo-vs-hotdog)
- **hood** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hood-vs-hoodoo)
- **hoodie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hoodie-vs-hoodoo)
- **hooded** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hooded-vs-hoodoo)

## Common misspellings (7)
`hhoodoo`, `hodoo`, `hodooo`, `hooddoo`, `hoodo`, `hooodo`, `ohodoo`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/hoodoo