hook
/hʊk/noun, verb
hook is spelled H-O-O-K: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,814th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hook means “A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hook is hooks.
How many letters and syllables are in hook?
| Letters | 4: H-O-O-K |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 23 times per million words; the 3,814th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
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 hook?
Hook appears 23 times per million words in written English, the 3,814th 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 hook?
- US /hʊk/
- British /hɵk/
- /huːk/
Hook has one syllable (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: En-us-hook.ogg, En-au-hook.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with hook
Also written: hoke, rod, line and sinker.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with hook?
7 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as hook from its last stressed vowel (/ʊk/):
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 hook
- hooks plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hooking participle, present
- hooked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hook mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment.
- 2
A barbed metal hook used for fishing; a fishhook.
- 3
Any of various hook-shaped agricultural implements such as a billhook.
- 4
The curved needle used in the art of crochet.
- 5
The part of a hinge which is fixed to a post, and on which a door or gate hangs and turns.
- 6
A loop shaped like a hook under certain written letters, for example, g and j.
- 7
A tie-in to a current event or trend that makes a news story or editorial relevant and timely.
- 8
A snare; a trap.
verb
- 1
To attach a hook to.
Hook the bag here, and the conveyor will carry it away.
- 2
To become attached, as by a hook.
The utensil holder hooks onto the side of the dishrack.
- 3
To catch with a hook (hook a fish).
He hooked a snake accidentally, and was so scared he dropped his rod into the water.
- 4
To work yarn into a fabric using a hook; to crochet.
- 5
To insert in a curved way reminiscent of a hook.
He hooked his fingers through his belt loops.
- 6
To ensnare or obligate someone, as if with a hook.
She's only here to try to hook a husband.
- 7
UKUSarchaicslangTo steal.
- 8
To connect (hook into, hook together).
If you hook your network cable into the jack, you'll be on the network.
noun
- 1
Alternative form of Hoek (“member of Dutch faction”)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate hook?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of hook: hk.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hook in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | crochet, agrafe , hook , bras roulé , accrocher , s'accrocher |
| German | Haken , haken , Hookline , einhaken |
| Portuguese | gancho , enganchar , volta , fisgar |
| Spanish | gancho, garfio, corvo, raño, garabito , enganchar |
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 hook come from?
From Middle English hoke, from Old English hōc (“angle, point, hook”), from Proto-West Germanic *hōk, from Proto-Germanic *hōkaz, variant of *hakô (“hook”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kog-, *keg-, *keng- (“peg, hook, claw”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).