hoot
/huːt/noun, verb
hoot is spelled H-O-O-T: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hoot means “A derisive cry or shout” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hoot is hoots.
How many letters and syllables are in hoot?
| Letters | 4: H-O-O-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 1 million words; the 29,270th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is hoot?
Hoot appears about once in every 1 million words in written English, the 29,270th 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 hoot?
- /huːt/
- Australia /hʉːt/
- Australia [hïɯt]
Hoot 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-au-hoot.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hoot
- hoots plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- hooting participle, present
- hooted participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hoot mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A derisive cry or shout.
My performance drew hoots of derision from the crowd.
- 2
The cry of an owl.
I heard the hoot of an owl. Whoo, whoo!
- 3
slangA fun event or person.
The party at the weekend was such a hoot! Thanks for the invite.
- 4
A small particle; a whit or jot.
We don't care a hoot about what you think.
- 5
slangMoney, especially in the form of cash given as payment.
verb
- 1
To cry out or shout in contempt.
- 2
To make a hoo, the cry of an owl.
- 3
To assail with contemptuous cries or shouts; to follow with derisive shouts.
Mary felt extremely offended when the workers hooted at her.
- 4
To sound the horn of a vehicle.
When you arrive to pick me up, hoot, and I'll come outside.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hoot in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | huées , hululement, ululement , huer , hululer, ululer |
| German | Johlen, Gejohle , Schrei, Ruf, Geschrei, Heulen |
| Spanish | ululato, grito, chillo , ulular |
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 hoot come from?
From Middle English houten, huten, hoten, assumed to be of North Germanic origin: Swedish hut! (“begone!”, interjection) (also dialectal Norwegian hut, Bornholm Danish hut, hot), Swedish huta (“to drive someone away (with calls)”), Old Swedish huta (“to cast out in contempt”), related to Swedish hojta (“to holler”), hojt (“a holler”), further related to Middle High German hiuzen, hūzen (“to call to pursuit”). Swedish hut is the common command to call off and silence barking (hunting) dogs on the pursuit.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).