ahoy
/əˈhɔɪ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.73 in modern English
10
Scrabble Score
4
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
An utterance of this interjection.
Example Sentences
- "While he was thus occupied, a voice, still more uncouth than the former, bawled aloud, ‘Ho! the house, a-hoy!’"
- "I made a speaking trumpet of my hands and commenced to whoop “Ahoy!” and “Hello!” at the top of my lungs. […] The Colonel woke up, and, after asking what in brimstone was the matter, opened his mouth and roared “Hi!” and “Hello!” like the bull of Bashan."
- "“(grunts) Frankie put glass in the piccata and the restaurant comped us, so we got all these chips. Let's hit the casino.” “All right.” “Come on, Nadia. Let's go watch this Rat Pack show with the girls.” “Did you say "the Rat Pack"?” “Yeah, they're good.” “They're here?” “Yeah, yeah, it's the Rat Pack.” “Chips ahoy!”"
- "Lawsuits, ahoy! […] Towns can regulate use of their beaches. But what about the waters offshore?"
- "Catalytic converters ahoy – Zeppelin's latest is one of those high-rev 3D driving games that simulates racing tracks from all over the world."
- "There were many ahoys heard from the approaching ship."
Etymology
From a- + hoy (a nautical call used in hauling), from Middle English hoy (interjection), a greeting dating back to the fourteenth century. Compare Dutch hoi (“hi!, hello!”).