ballyhoo

B3A1L1L1Y4H4O1O1
/bæliˈhuː/

noun

Sensational or clamorous advertising or publicity.

Similar
hooplahypeplug
OriginSpanish balajú →
UncommonScrabble 16
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Meanings

ballyhoo1

nounballyhoo (plural ballyhoos)

plural ballyhoos

  1. informalSensational or clamorous advertising or publicity.
  2. informalNoisy shouting or uproar.

    Talk, it's only talk / Babble, burble, banter / Bicker, bicker, bicker / Brouhaha, balderdash, ballyhoo / It's only talk / Back talk

    1981, “Elephant Talk”, in Discipline, performed by King Crimson
verbballyhoo (third-person singular simple present ballyhoos, present participle ballyhooing, simple past and past participle ballyhooed)

present singular third person ballyhoos · participle present ballyhooing · participle past ballyhooed · past ballyhooed

  1. informaltransitiveTo sensationalize or make grand claims.

    Industry has picked up, railroads are carrying more freight, farm prices are better, but I am not going to indulge in issuing proclamations of over-enthusiastic assurance. We cannot ballyhoo ourselves back to prosperity.

    1933, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fireside Chat (7 May)

ballyhoo2

nounballyhoo (plural ballyhoos or ballyhoo)

plural ballyhoos

  1. Certain species in family Hemiramphidae, inshore, surface-dwelling needlefish forming sizeable schools.
    1. Hemiramphus brasiliensis

ballyhoo3

nounballyhoo (plural ballyhoos)

plural ballyhoos

  1. An unseaworthy or slovenly ship.

Synonyms & antonyms

Similar
hoopla

nounblatant or sensational promotion

Similar
hooplahypeplug
Broader
promotionpromopublicity
Also see
dinhooplahypeinkplug

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

ballyhoo · noun, verb

Uncertain. Perhaps a shortening of the Irish village Ballyhooly, known for its rowdiness.

Full word history & related roots →

ballyhoo · noun

  1. Spanishbalajú
  2. Spanishbalajú
  3. Englishballyhoo

Borrowed from Spanish balajú.

More words from Spanish

Full word history & related roots →

ballyhoo · noun

  1. Spanishbalahú“schooner”
  2. Englishballyhoo

Possibly from Spanish balahú (“schooner”).

More words from Spanish

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian сензация, патърдия
  • сензация (senzacija)sensational or clamorous advertising or publicity
  • патърдия (patărdija)sensational or clamorous advertising or publicity
  • шум (šum)noise shouting or uproar
  • врява (vrjava)noise shouting or uproar
Finnish brasiliannokkakala
  • brasiliannokkakalaspecies of needlefish
French battage, aiguillette
  • battagesensational or clamorous advertising or publicity
  • aiguillettespecies of needlefish
German Klamauk, marktschreierisch anpreisen
  • Klamauknoise shouting or uproar
  • marktschreierisch anpreisento sensationalize or make grand claims
Russian шуми́ха, сенса́ция
  • шуми́ха (šumíxa)sensational or clamorous advertising or publicity
  • сенса́ция (sensácija)sensational or clamorous advertising or publicity
  • шум (šum)noise shouting or uproar
  • гам (gam)noise shouting or uproar
Spanish alboroto, jaleo
  • alborotonoise shouting or uproar
  • jaleonoise shouting or uproar
  • alborotarto sensationalize or make grand claims
Cite this entry
APA

ballyhoo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ballyhoo

MLA

“ballyhoo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ballyhoo. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ballyhoo,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ballyhoo.

Source: ballyhoo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.