hook

plural hooks

1. 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

   2019 February 19, Clickhole, archived from the original on 14 Jul 2022, This quote is falsely attributed to Emma Stone for humorous effect

2. 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: [...]

   1819 September 19, John Keats, “To Autumn”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], published 1820, →OCLC, stanza 2, page 138

4. The curved needle used in the art of crochet.
5. The part of a hinge which is fixed to a post, and on which a door or gate hangs and turns.
6. A loop shaped like a hook under certain written letters, for example, g and j.
7. A tie-in to a current event or trend that makes a news story or editorial relevant and timely.
8. A snare; a trap.

   A shop of all the qualities, that man Loues woman for, besides that hooke of Wiuing,

   1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene v]

9. An advantageous hold.

   “What makes you so sure that nobody knows you've got a hook into him?” Ward asked.

   2020, Joel W. Barrows, Deep Red Cover

10. in pluralThe projecting points of the thighbones of cattle; called also hook bones.
11. informalRemoval or expulsion from a group or activity.

    He is not handling this job, so we're giving him the hook.

12. agricultureA field sown two years in succession.
13. informalA 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.

    2022 September 12, leicsmiscellany, Twitter

    1 more example

    Much of the Two in Twenty humor is insider stuff; this soap is clearly made for lesbians who have been around the city block, with a few road trips to Michigan. Gay men may love it as well, and others with a hook into contemporary urban dyke life.

    1988 February 7, Elizabeth Pincus, “A Romp Through Lavender Land”, in Gay Community News, volume 15, number 29, page 7

14. authorshipA 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.
15. human sciencesA 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.

    2019 August 14, A. A. Dowd, “Good Boys Puts a Tween Spin on the R-rated Teen Comedy, to Mostly Funny Effect”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 04 Mar 2021

16. slangbridgeA finesse.
17. slangcard gamesA jack (the playing card).
18. A sharp bend or angle in the course or length of an object (e.g. a bend in a river, etc.).
19. geographyA spit or narrow cape of sand or gravel turned landward at the outer end, such as Sandy Hook in New Jersey.
20. entertainmentA catchy musical phrase which forms the basis of a popular song.

    The song's hook snared me.

    1 more example

    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.

    2017 January 20, Annie Zaleski, “AFI sounds refreshed and rejuvenated on its 10th album, AFI (The Blood Album)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 15 Apr 2017

21. informalnauticalA ship's anchor.
22. computingPart 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.

    1 more example

    In lieu of those unneeded hooks, write code to fail fast and prevent gaps from becoming a problem.

    2015, Rachel Alt-Simmons, Agile by Design, page 182

    Synonyms: endpoint

23. ScrabbleAn 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.

    2003, Andrew Fisher, David Webb, The Art of Scrabble, →ISBN, page 58

24. mediaA diacritical mark shaped like the upper part of a question mark, as in ỏ.
25. raremediaA háček.

    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”.

    2 more examples

    Common diacritics in Slavonic language are the hook ˇ (as in haček – Czech for ‘hook’) and the stroke ´ (robić – Polish for ‘do/make’).

    2003, Language Issues, XV-XVIII, page 36

    In Czech, palatalization is normally indicated by the symbol ˇ, called haček or “hook.”

    2003, David Adams, The Song and Duet Texts of Antonín Dvořák, page 168

26. Senses relating to sports.
    1. ball gamesA curveball.

       He threw a hook in the dirt.

    2. ball gamesa basketball shot in which the offensive player, usually turned perpendicular to the basket, gently throws the ball with a sweeping motion of his arm in an upward arc with a follow-through which ends over his head. Also called hook shot.
    3. bowlingA ball that is rolled in a curved line.

       However, for pins on the bowler's right, such as the 3, 6, 9, or 10, move more toward the center of the foul line if you bowl a straight ball or slightly to the left of the center of the foul line if you bowl a hook.

       1969, Harold Keith, Sports and Games, page 102

    4. boxinga type of punch delivered with the arm rigid and partially bent and the fist travelling nearly horizontally mesially along an arc

       The heavyweight delivered a few powerful hooks that staggered his opponent.

       1 more example

       American Ward was too quick and too slick for his British rival, landing at will with razor sharp jabs and hooks and even bullying Froch at times.

       2011 December 18, Ben Dirs, “Carl Froch outclassed by dazzling Andre Ward”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 10 Apr 2022

    5. ball gamesA type of shot played by swinging the bat in a horizontal arc, hitting the ball high in the air to the leg side, often played to balls which bounce around head height.
    6. golfA golf shot that (for the right-handed player) curves unintentionally to the left. (See draw, slice, fade.)
    7. The amount of spin placed on a bowling ball.
27. AustraliaCanadagovernmentAny of the chevrons denoting rank.
28. slangA prostitute.

    I was talkin' to a couple of the 'hooks' (female prostitutes) I know.

    1983, G. W. Levi Kamel, Downtown Street Hustlers, page 160

    Synonyms: hooker

29. UKobsoleteslangA pickpocket.

    "Everybody's a tool over there. Everybody's a hook, except them four guys on the points of the compass. They are eight or ten strong over there." But all professional pickpockets, however expert or however clumsy, operate on the basis of the situation just outlined.

    2003, David W. Maurer, Whiz Mob: A Correlation of the Technical Argot of Pickpockets with Their Behavior Pattern, page 58

    1 more example

    He preceded me to Dartmoor, where I found his fame even more loudly trumpeted than ever, especially by Manchester “hooks” (pickpockets), who boast of being the rivals of the “Cocks,” or Londoners, in the art of obtaining other people's property without paying for it.

    1885, Michael Davitt, Leaves from a Prison Diary, page 18

30. hobbiesSynonym 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.

    1963, Grant W. Kuhns, On Surfing, page 67

    Synonyms: shoulder

31. historicalnauticalA 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.

present singular third person hooks · participle present hooking · participle past hooked · past hooked

1. transitiveTo attach a hook to.

   Hook the bag here, and the conveyor will carry it away.

2. intransitiveTo become attached, as by a hook.

   The utensil holder hooks onto the side of the dishrack.

3. transitiveTo catch with a hook (hook a fish).

   He hooked a snake accidentally, and was so scared he dropped his rod into the water.

4. transitiveTo work yarn into a fabric using a hook; to crochet.

   No one seems to want anything but hooked mats now.

   1917, L M Montgomery, Anne's House of Dreams

5. transitiveTo insert in a curved way reminiscent of a hook.

   He hooked his fingers through his belt loops.

6. transitiveTo ensnare or obligate someone, as if with a hook.

   She's only here to try to hook a husband.

   1 more example

   A free trial is a good way to hook customers.

7. UKUSarchaicslangTo steal.
8. transitiveTo connect (hook into, hook together).

   If you hook your network cable into the jack, you'll be on the network.

9. usually passive voiceTo make addicted; to captivate.

   He had gotten hooked on cigarettes in his youth.

   1 more example

   I watched one episode of that TV series and now I'm hooked.

10. To acquire as a spouse.

    People talk about so and so getting married and they always comment about the class or potential class status of the person this woman had "hooked." You know, "He comes from a working class background but he's studying to be a lawyer and she's going to be all set."

    1990 February 4, Vanessa Nemeth, Stephanie Poggi, “Bumps And All”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 29, page 12

11. ball gamesTo play a hook shot.

    "Hey, Sara! Watch this hook shot!" he shouted as he hooked the ball right through the net—swish!

    2012, Roland Johnson, Jeremya Jones: A King's Kid, page 93

12. ball gamesTo succeed in heeling the ball back out of a scrum (used particularly of the team's designated hooker).
13. field hockeyhobbiesTo 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.

14. ball gamesTo 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.

    2010 December 29, Sam Sheringham, “Liverpool 0 - 1 Wolverhampton”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 17 Mar 2011

15. intransitiveslangTo 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.

16. ScrabbleTo play a word perpendicular to another word by adding a single letter to the existing word.
17. slangbridgeTo finesse.
18. transitiveTo seize or pierce with the points of the horns, as cattle in attacking enemies; to gore.
19. intransitiveTo 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 […]

    2020, Roman Martin, Azores: The finest coastal and mountain walks, page 229

20. intransitiveTo move or go with a sudden turn.
21. slangTo play hooky; to skip school or a class

    They hooked English, sneaking out behind the school and smoking cigarettes.

plural Hooks

1. countableuncountableA surname.
2. A number of places in the United Kingdom:
   1. countableuncountableA hamlet in Wimblington parish, Fenland district, Cambridgeshire (OS grid ref TF4293).
   2. countableuncountableA hamlet in Chardstock parish, East Devon district, Devon, England (OS grid ref ST3005).
   3. countableuncountableA village and civil parish near Goole, East Riding of Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref SE7625).
   4. countableuncountableA suburb in the borough of Kingston upon Thames, Greater London, England (OS grid ref TQ1865).
   5. countableuncountableA large village and civil parish in Hart district, Hampshire, England (OS grid ref SU7254).
   6. countableuncountableA hamlet in Fareham borough, Hampshire, England (OS grid ref SU5005).
   7. countableuncountableA hamlet in Timsbury parish, Bath and North East Somerset district, Somerset (OS grid ref ST6758).
   8. countableuncountableA village in Lydiard Tregoze parish, near Wootton Bassett, Wiltshire, England (OS grid ref SU0784).
   9. countableuncountableA village and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales (OS grid ref SM9711).
3. countableuncountableA rural locality in South Canterbury, Canterbury, New Zealand, on the Hook River.

plural Hooks

1. alternativeAlternative form of Hoek (“member of Dutch faction”)