hook

noun

/hʊk/

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”). Cognates 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.

derived from *kog-✻
inherited from *hōkaz✻
inherited from *hōk✻
inherited from hōc
inherited from hoke

Definitions

1
A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to…
A rod bent into a curved shape, typically with one end free and the other end secured to a rope or other attachment.
- "If I were a pirate and lost my hand, I would ask them to replace it with a computer mouse rather than a hook. I use a computer mouse all day, and I only use a hook three to five times a day."¶ -Emma Stone¶ On hooks
A barbed metal hook used for fishing
A barbed metal hook used for fishing; a fishhook.
3
Any of various hook-shaped agricultural implements such as a billhook.
- Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep, / Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook / Spares the next swath and all its twinèd flowers: [...]
›+ 52 more definitionsshow fewer
1. The curved needle used in the art of crochet.
2. The part of a hinge which is fixed to a post, and on which a door or gate hangs and turns.
3. A loop shaped like a hook under certain written letters, for example, g and j.
4. A tie-in to a current event or trend that makes a news story or editorial relevant and…
  A tie-in to a current event or trend that makes a news story or editorial relevant and timely.
5. 8
  A snare
  A snare; a trap.
  - A shop of all the qualities, that man Loues woman for, besides that hooke of Wiuing,
6. 9
  An advantageous hold.
  - “What makes you so sure that nobody knows you've got a hook into him?” Ward asked.
7. The projecting points of the thighbones of cattle
  The projecting points of the thighbones of cattle; called also hook bones.
8. 11
  Removal or expulsion from a group or activity.
  - He is not handling this job, so we're giving him the hook.
9. A field sown two years in succession.
10. 13
  A grasp (of), an attachment (to).
  - If you're struggling to get a hook on the scale of it, that's the North Stand at Leicester Tigers, plus six Peter Crouches, or half a Clock Tower.
11. A brief, punchy opening statement intended to get attention from an audience, reader, or…
  A brief, punchy opening statement intended to get attention from an audience, reader, or viewer, and make them want to continue to listen to a speech, read a book, or watch a play.
12. 15
  A gimmick or element of a creative work intended to be attention-grabbing for the audience
  A gimmick or element of a creative work intended to be attention-grabbing for the audience; a compelling idea for a story that will be sure to attract people's attention.
  - The hook of Good Boys, Hollywood's latest odyssey of comic adolescent mischief, is that the kids behaving badly are, for once, truly kids.
13. A finesse.
14. A jack (the playing card).
15. A sharp bend or angle in the course or length of an object (e.g. a bend in a river, etc.).
16. A spit or narrow cape of sand or gravel turned landward at the outer end, such as Sandy…
  A spit or narrow cape of sand or gravel turned landward at the outer end, such as Sandy Hook in New Jersey.
17. 20
  A catchy musical phrase which forms the basis of a popular song.
  - The song's hook snared me.
  - Guitarist Jade Puget and vocalist Davey Havok have distilled AFI’s strengths (a ferocious, post-hardcore rhythmic backbone; goth-tinctured, post-punky guitars; and Havok’s desperate, dramatic croon) into 14 taut, hook-driven songs.
18. A ship's anchor.
19. 22
  Part of a system's operation that can be intercepted to change or augment its behaviour.
  - We've added hooks to allow undefined message types to be handled with custom code.
  - In lieu of those unneeded hooks, write code to fail fast and prevent gaps from becoming a problem.
20. 23
  An instance of playing a word perpendicular to a word already on the board, adding a…
  An instance of playing a word perpendicular to a word already on the board, adding a letter to the start or the end of the word to form a new word.
  - Setup plays can also be made when you do not have the needed letter but believe your opponent doesn't know the hook owing to its obscurity.
21. A diacritical mark shaped like the upper part of a question mark, as in ỏ.
22. 25
  A háček.
  - Common diacritics in Slavonic language are the hook ˇ (as in haček – Czech for ‘hook’) and the stroke ´ (robić – Polish for ‘do/make’).
  - In Czech, palatalization is normally indicated by the symbol ˇ, called haček or “hook.”
  - 2004, Keesing’s Record of World Events L:i–xii, page unknown In detailing the proposed shortening of the Czech Republic to Česko…the hook (hacek) erroneously appeared over the letter “e” instead of the “C”.
23. 26
  Senses relating to sports.
  - He threw a hook in the dirt.
24. Any of the chevrons denoting rank.
25. 28
  A prostitute.
  - I was talkin' to a couple of the 'hooks' (female prostitutes) I know.
26. A pickpocket.
27. 30
  Synonym of shoulder (“the part of a wave that has not yet broken”).
  - This maneuver involves a sharp turn, back into the hook of the wave.
28. A knee-shaped wooden join connecting the keel to the stem (post forming the frontmost…
  A knee-shaped wooden join connecting the keel to the stem (post forming the frontmost part of the bow) or the sternpost in cog-like vessels or similar vessels.
29. 32
  To attach a hook to.
  - Hook the bag here, and the conveyor will carry it away.
30. 33
  To become attached, as by a hook.
  - The utensil holder hooks onto the side of the dishrack.
31. 34
  To catch with a hook (hook a fish).
  - He hooked a snake accidentally, and was so scared he dropped his rod into the water.
32. 35
  To work yarn into a fabric using a hook
  To work yarn into a fabric using a hook; to crochet.
  - No one seems to want anything but hooked mats now.
33. 36
  To insert in a curved way reminiscent of a hook.
  - He hooked his fingers through his belt loops.
34. 37
  To ensnare or obligate someone, as if with a hook.
  - She's only here to try to hook a husband.
  - A free trial is a good way to hook customers.
35. To steal.
36. 39
  To connect (hook into, hook together).
  - If you hook your network cable into the jack, you'll be on the network.
37. 40
  To make addicted
  To make addicted; to captivate.
  - He had gotten hooked on cigarettes in his youth.
  - I watched one episode of that TV series and now I'm hooked.
38. To acquire as a spouse.
39. 42
  To play a hook shot.
  - "Hey, Sara! Watch this hook shot!" he shouted as he hooked the ball right through the net—swish!
40. To succeed in heeling the ball back out of a scrum (used particularly of the team's…
  To succeed in heeling the ball back out of a scrum (used particularly of the team's designated hooker).
41. 44
  To use the hockey stick to trip or block another player
  - The opposing team's forward hooked me, but the referee didn't see it, so no penalty.
42. 45
  To swerve a ball
  To swerve a ball; kick or throw a ball so it swerves or bends.
  - The Reds carved the first opening of the second period as Glen Johnson's pull-back found David Ngog but the Frenchman hooked wide from six yards.
43. 46
  To engage in prostitution.
  - I had a cheap flat in the bad part of town, and I could watch the working girls hooking from my bedroom window.
44. To play a word perpendicular to another word by adding a single letter to the existing…
  To play a word perpendicular to another word by adding a single letter to the existing word.
45. To finesse.
46. To seize or pierce with the points of the horns, as cattle in attacking enemies
  To seize or pierce with the points of the horns, as cattle in attacking enemies; to gore.
47. 50
  To bend
  To bend; to be curved.
  - 10 mins later, at the point where the road hooks sharp to the left, continue straight on through the wood along a mule track […]
48. To move or go with a sudden turn.
49. A surname.
50. A number of places in the United Kingdom
  A number of places in the United Kingdom:
51. A rural locality in South Canterbury, Canterbury, New Zealand, on the Hook River.
52. Alternative form of Hoek (“member of Dutch faction”)

The neighborhood

neighborgrappling hook

Derived

Aberdeen hook, amnihook, anal hook, armhook, baithook, bench hook, bid hook, bill-hook, bill hook, blue hook star, boat hook, boat-hook, boathook, Bombay Hook, boothook, breasthook, Brummel hook, brush hook, bullhook, butcher's hook, butthook, buttonhook, by hook or by crook, cabin hook, can hook, cant hook, check hook, chimney hook, closet hook, clove hook, coat hook, coathook, crochet hook, deck hook, dehook, diacritical hook, dog hook, draught hook, drawhook, eyehook · +138 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at hook. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

A definitional loop anchored at hook. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at hook

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA