hook
/hʊk/ noun, verb, proper noun
- noun A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment.
- noun A barbed metal hook used for fishing; a fishhook.
- noun Any of various hook-shaped agricultural implements such as a billhook.
- noun The curved needle used in the art of crochet.
- noun The part of a hinge which is fixed to a post, and on which a door or gate hangs and turns.
- noun A loop shaped like a hook under certain written letters, for example, g and j.
- noun A tie-in to a current event or trend that makes a news story or editorial relevant and timely.
- noun A snare; a trap.
- verb (transitive) To attach a hook to. “Hook the bag here, and the conveyor will carry it away.”
- verb (intransitive) To become attached, as by a hook. “The utensil holder hooks onto the side of the dishrack.”
- verb (transitive) To catch with a hook (hook a fish). “He hooked a snake accidentally, and was so scared he dropped his rod into the water.”
- verb (transitive) To work yarn into a fabric using a hook; to crochet.
- verb (transitive) To insert in a curved way reminiscent of a hook. “He hooked his fingers through his belt loops.”
- verb (transitive) To ensnare or obligate someone, as if with a hook. “She's only here to try to hook a husband.”
- verb (UK, US, slang, archaic) To steal.
- verb (transitive) To connect (hook into, hook together). “If you hook your network cable into the jack, you'll be on the network.”
- proper noun A surname.
- proper noun A hamlet in Wimblington parish, Fenland district, Cambridgeshire (OS grid ref TF4293).
- proper noun A hamlet in Chardstock parish, East Devon district, Devon, England (OS grid ref ST3005).
- proper noun A village and civil parish near Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref SE7625).
Synonyms
endpoint hooker shoulder crotchet bait come-on lure sweetener claw draw hooking hook shot overcharge soak surcharge gazump fleece plume pluck rob crochet snitch thieve cop knock off glom pilfer cabbage purloin pinch
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English hoke, from Old English hōc (“angle, point, hook”), from Proto-West Germanic *hōk, from Proto-Germanic *hōkaz, variant of *hakô (“hook”), probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *kog-, *keg-, *keng- (“peg, hook, claw”).
Cognate with Scots huke, huik (“hook”), West Frisian and Dutch hoek (“hook, angle, corner”), Low German Hook, Huuk, German Hook (“small cluster of farms”), Faroese høkja (“crutch”), Icelandic hækja (“crutch”), Norn hek (“crutch”), Finnish kuokka (“hoe, mattock”). Related to hake.
* As an English surname, from the noun hook.
* As a Swedish surname, from hök (“hawk”).
* As a Dutch surname, Americanized from Hoek; compare Vanhook.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A piece of metal, or other hard material, formed or bent into a curve or at an angle, for catching, holding, or sustaining anything; as, a hook for catching fish; a hook for fastening a gate; a boat hook, etc.
- noun That part of a hinge which is fixed to a post, and on which a door or gate hangs and turns.
- verb To catch or fasten with a hook or hooks; to seize, capture, or hold, as with a hook, esp. with a disguised or baited hook; hence, to secure by allurement or artifice; to entrap; to catch; as, to hook a dress; to hook a trout.
- verb To seize or pierce with the points of the horns, as cattle in attacking enemies; to gore.
Etymology [OE. hok, AS. hoc; cf. D. haak, G. hake, haken, OHG. hako, hago, haggo, Icel. haki, Sw. hake, Dan. hage. Cf. Arquebuse, Hagbut, Hake, Hatch a half door, Heckle.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “hook”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details