hoop
/hʊp/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 3.41 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
1
Syllables
3
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A circular band of metal, wood, or similar material used for forming part of a framework such as an awning or tent.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A circle, or combination of circles, of thin whalebone, metal, or other elastic material, used for expanding the skirts of ladies' dresses; (hence, by extension) a hoop petticoat or hoop skirt.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A quart-pot; so called because originally bound with hoops, like a barrel. Also, a portion of the contents measured by the distance between the hoops.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "the cheese hoop, or cylinder in which the curd is pressed in making cheese"
- "gymnastic hoop"
- "a hoop between trees"
- "He took the removed chair and drew it so near mine, squatting in it with his ugly weight, that he pressed upon my hoop."
- "The door of the room now flew open, and, after pushing in her hoop sideways before her, entered Lady Bellaston, who having first made a very low courtesy to Mrs Fitzpatrick, and as low a one to Mr Jones, was ushered to the upper end of the room."
- "Articles ranging from Chris Johnson's "For Europeans, hoops is the second-most beautiful game" for The Globe and Mail to Adam Minter's "China Is Hoops Country" for Bloomberg Opinion have detailed the rise in basketball in a wide range of countries, including the most populous ones in the world."
Etymology
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: hoop, hōp, *hōpą, *kāb-
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /hʊp/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- British usage
- Obsolete
- American usage
- Australian usage
- Slang
- Transitive verb