coo coo

Meanings

1. 1interjection

   A word used to copy the soft repeated sound that doves and pigeons make.

   Grammar: Used on its own as a sound word, often repeated: Coo coo, coo coo.

   Coo coo, coo coo — we could hear the pigeons on the roof all afternoon.

   She rocked the baby and softly said, "coo coo, coo coo."

   From the garden came a gentle coo coo.

2. 2adjectivenot comparableinformalAmerican

   Silly or slightly crazy, especially in a playful or informal way.

   Grammar: Used after the verb be or before a noun, mainly in informal American speech.

   Patterns

   • be coo coo
   • go coo coo

   He's not really coo coo; he just likes to joke around.

   After three nights without sleep, I felt a bit coo coo.

   That plan of yours sounds totally coo coo to me.

3. 3nouncountablechild language

   A dove or pigeon, or the soft sound such a bird makes, in children's language.

   Grammar: Countable when it means a bird: a coo coo, two coo coos.

   Patterns

   • a coo coo
   • hear a coo coo

   Look, a coo coo on the fence!

   The baby pointed at the coo coo and laughed.

Word forms

Common combinations

go coo coo

He went completely coo coo when he lost his keys.

a bit coo coo

Don't worry, she's just a bit coo coo about germs.

the coo coo of a dove

The coo coo of a dove drifted through the open window.

Synonyms and how they differ

cuckoo

The standard spelling for both the bird and the meaning 'crazy'; use cuckoo in writing, and coo coo only for the dove sound or for a playful imitation.

crazy

A more general and stronger word for 'not sensible'; coo coo is gentler and more humorous.

daffy

Also informal and means silly, but it suggests harmless oddness rather than a sound.

Opposites

Commonly confused: coo coo or cuckoo? coo coo or kook?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “coo coo”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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