Skip to the word

Added 8 October 2026

hoop

/huːp/ noun

noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about hoop at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

A circular band of metal used to bind a barrel.
Any circular band or ring.
the cheese hoop, or cylinder in which the curd is pressed in making cheese
A circular band of metal, wood, or similar material used for forming part of a framework such as an awning or tent.

verb

To bind or fasten using a hoop.
to hoop a barrel or puncheon
To clasp; to encircle; to surround.
To play basketball.

noun

A shout; a whoop, as in whooping cough.
The hoopoe.

verb

To utter a loud cry, or a sound imitative of the word, by way of call or pursuit; to shout.
To whoop, as in whooping cough.

Origin

From Middle English hoop, hoope, from Old English hōp (“mound, raised land; in combination, circular object”), from Proto-Germanic *hōpą (“bend, bow, arch”) (compare Saterland Frisian Houp (“hoop”), Dutch hoep (“hoop”), Old Norse hóp (“bay, inlet”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kāb- (“to bend”) (compare Lithuanian kabė (“hook”), Old Church Slavonic кѫпъ (kǫpŭ, “hill, island”)). More at camp.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word