shoo

/ʃuː/

//ʃuː// verb

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"shoo" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“shoo” sits in 20 confusable pairs (corpus #35,078) as a verb. The look-alike neighbours are the real trap.

#35,078
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
3
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To induce someone or something to leave.

Corpus desk

Index EN-shoo · shoo · English

shoo · rank #35,078 · 3 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #35,078
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-LOW 3 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH shithead

Nearest frequency peer: shithead (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “shoo”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “shoo” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

shoo vs so
50% similar
shoo vs son
50% similar
shoo vs shy
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for shoo
PropertyValue
Headwordshoo
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechVerb
IPA/ʃuː/
Letters4
Frequency rank#35,078
Misspellings tracked3
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “shoo” sits in English frequency

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).shoolands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “shithead” (#35,077), “Shenandoah” (#35,076), “Shasta” (#35,075). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Easy to mix with look-alikes

The spelling risk for shoo is neighbouring look-alikes ("so", "son", …), not just typos; it is averb pronounced /ʃuː/. Frequency #35,078 among 6,566 “S” headwords. 3 recorded senses keep meaning in play.

Our generated misspelling index lists 3 likely wrong-spelling variants for shoo, with forms such as "hsoo", "shhoo", and "sshoo". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "so", "son", "shy", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English schew, schowe, show, showe, scou (“shoo!”, interjection). Compare Middle High German schū, schuo (“shoo!”, interjection) (modern German scheu! (“shoo!”)), Dutch schuwen (“to shun”), German scheuchen (“to scare, drive away”). The correct English form is shoo, spelled S-H-O-O.

Definition

  1. 1
    To induce someone or something to leave.
  2. 2
    To leave under inducement.
  3. 3
    To usher someone.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how shoo appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Don't just shoo away mosquitoes, kill them!
  2. See if you can shoo off the insurance salesmen.

Etymology

From Middle English schew, schowe, show, showe, scou (“shoo!”, interjection). Compare Middle High German schū, schuo (“shoo!”, interjection) (modern German scheu! (“shoo!”)), Dutch schuwen (“to shun”), German scheuchen (“to scare, drive away”).

This word in other languages

ahuyentar(Español)zou(Français)scheuchen(Deutsch)enxotar(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hsoo
  • shhoo
  • sshoo

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of shoo - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hsoo2shhoo1sshoo1
Edit distance from "shoo"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "shoo"?
"shoo" is spelled S-H-O-O. The IPA pronunciation is /ʃuː/.
What does "shoo" mean?
As a verb, "shoo" means: To induce someone or something to leave.
What words are commonly confused with "shoo"?
"shoo" is commonly confused with "so", "son", "shy". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "shoo"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "shoo" is /ʃuː/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "shoo"?
From Middle English schew, schowe, show, showe, scou (“shoo!”, interjection). Compare Middle High German schū, schuo (“shoo!”, interjection) (modern German scheu! (“shoo!”)), Dutch schuwen (“to shun”), German scheuchen (“to scare, drive away”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "shoo", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

romp#35,056tosh#35,118tugs#35,124nosy#34,995

What to do next

You've looked up "shoo". Here's where to go from here.

  • "shoo" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "so". View pair
  • 3 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #35,078 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list