# hoopla

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈhuːplɑ/ · frequency rank #49,402

## Definitions
1. A bustling to-do, excited speech or noise.
2. A carnival game in which the player attempts to throw hoops around pegs.

## Etymology
Earlier houp-la, hoop la, first attested in c. 1877, probably from French houp-là, oup-là (“upsadaisy, upsy-daisy”), a cry to various animals close to humans like horses and dogs, of likely onomatopoeic origin (but see là). Compare interjections like whoop, ahoy, hoo.

## Easily confused with
- **hoops** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hoopla-vs-hoops)
- **hoop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hoop-vs-hoopla)
- **hola** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hola-vs-hoopla)
- **holla** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/holla-vs-hoopla)
- **hooper** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/hooper-vs-hoopla)

## Common misspellings (8)
`hhoopla`, `hoolpa`, `hoopal`, `hooplla`, `hooppla`, `hopla`, `hopola`, `ohopla`

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