hoop
Definition, pronunciation, etymology, and usage for the English word. Free spelling reference powered by Wiktionary.
Letters
4 characters
Language
English
word origin
Source
Wiktionary
open dictionary
Access
Free
no sign-up needed
Detailed reference entry for the English word "hoop", 4-letters, with pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet notation, etymology traced through Germanic and Romance roots where applicable, common misspelling variants catalogued from Hunspell error dictionaries, and usage frequency ranked against the top 100,000 English words in the Wordfreq corpus. PlainSpell covers English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German spelling with confusable-pair detection that highlights visually and phonetically similar words. This entry for "hoop" includes synonyms, antonyms, homophones, and cross-language translation pointers sourced from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org extract. Whether you are verifying the correct spelling of "hoop" for academic writing, checking homophone confusion, or exploring etymological origins, this page provides a citation-backed, free reference that requires no sign-up.
hoop is aEnglishnoun. It means: A circular band of metal used to bind a barrel. Pronounced /huːp/. Often confused with HP and how.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | hoop |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /huːp/ |
| Letters | 4 |
| Frequency rank | #16,934 |
| Misspellings tracked | 4 |
| Confusable pairs | 20 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Frequency rank visualization
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for hoop is 4 letters long, classified as anoun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /huːp/. Corpus data places it at rank #16,934 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it.Wiktionary records 16 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our Hunspell-derived misspelling index lists 4 documented wrong-spelling variants for hoop, with forms such as "hhoop", "hoopp", and "hopo". Each variant represents a distinct typo pattern that appears often enough in corpora to be worth flagging, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution.It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "HP", "how", "hot", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hoop, hoope, from Old English hōp (“mound, raised land; in combination, circular object”), from Proto-Germanic *hōpą (“bend, bow, arch”) (compare Saterland Frisian Houp (“hoop”), Dutch hoep (“hoop”), Old Norse hóp (“bay, inlet”)), from P… Root origin matters for spelling because borrowed morphemes (Greek, Latin, Old French, Old English) carry their source-language orthographic conventions into modern English, which is why historical etymology is often the cleanest predictor of whether a cluster like "-ough", "-eau", or "-tion" will appear. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct English form is hoop, spelled H-O-O-P, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.
Definition
- 1A circular band of metal used to bind a barrel.
- 2Any circular band or ring.
- 3A circular band of metal, wood, or similar material used for forming part of a framework such as an awning or tent.
- 4A circle, or combination of circles, of thin whalebone, metal, or other elastic material, used for expanding the skirts of ladies' dresses; (hence, by extension) a hoop petticoat or hoop skirt.
- 5A quart-pot; so called because originally bound with hoops, like a barrel. Also, a portion of the contents measured by the distance between the hoops.
- 6An old measure of capacity, variously estimated at from one to four pecks.
- 7The rim part of a basketball net.
- 8The game of basketball.
- 9A hoop earring.
- 10A horizontal stripe on the jersey.
- 11A jockey.
- 12An obstacle that must be overcome in order to proceed.
- 13Hooping (manipulation of and artistic movement or dancing with a hoop).
- 14A significant amount of swing from the bowler.
- 15An apparatus.
- 16An apparatus.
Etymology
From Middle English hoop, hoope, from Old English hōp (“mound, raised land; in combination, circular object”), from Proto-Germanic *hōpą (“bend, bow, arch”) (compare Saterland Frisian Houp (“hoop”), Dutch hoep (“hoop”), Old Norse hóp (“bay, inlet”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kāb- (“to bend”) (compare Lithuanian kabė (“hook”), Old Church Slavonic кѫпъ (kǫpŭ, “hill, island”)). More at camp.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: hhoop,hoopp,hopo,ohop
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
Relative frequency of common misspelling types for hoop
Misspelling Variants of "hoop"
Frequency rank: #16,934 in English
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "hoop"?
What does "hoop" mean?
What words are commonly confused with "hoop"?
How do you pronounce "hoop"?
What is the origin of the word "hoop"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Nearby English words
Other entries that begin with the letter H in our English index: