# whoop

> English word · Noun · IPA /wuːp/ · frequency rank #22,551

## Definitions
1. A loud, eager cry, usually of joy.
2. A gasp, characteristic of whooping cough.
3. A bump on a racetrack.

## Etymology
From Middle English whopen, whowpen, howpen, houpen (“to whoop, cry out”), partially from Old French houper, hopper, houpper (“to shout”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwōpan, from Proto-Germanic *hwōpaną (“to boast, threaten”) (compare Gothic 𐍈𐍉𐍀𐌰𐌽 (ƕōpan, “to boast”), Old English hwōpan (“to threaten”)); and partially from Middle English wop (“weeping, lamentation”), from Old English wōp (“cry, outcry, shrieking, weeping, lamentation”), from Proto-West Germanic *wōp, from Proto-Germanic *wōpaz (“shout, cry, wail”) (compare Old Norse ópa (“to cry, scream, shout”), Gothic 𐍅𐍉𐍀𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wōpjan, “to cry out”)).

## Easily confused with
- **woo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-woo)
- **wop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-wop)
- **wood** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-wood)
- **wool** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-wool)
- **woof** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-woof)
- **whos** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-whos)
- **wook** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-wook)
- **whose** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-whose)
- **whore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-whore)
- **whorl** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-whorl)
- **whoops** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-whoops)
- **whoosh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoop-vs-whoosh)
- **who** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/who-vs-whoop)
- **whom** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whom-vs-whoop)
- **whip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whip-vs-whoop)
- **whoa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoa-vs-whoop)
- **whoo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whoo-vs-whoop)
- **whole** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/whole-vs-whoop)
- **who's** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/who-s-vs-whoop)
- **who'd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/who-d-vs-whoop)

## Common misspellings (7)
`hwoop`, `whhoop`, `whoopp`, `whop`, `whopo`, `wohop`, `wwhoop`

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