hip hip

Meanings

1. 1interjection

   A shout one person makes to lead a group in cheering for someone; the group answers with "hooray" or "hurrah".

   Grammar: It is a fixed call, not part of a normal sentence: the caller says "hip hip" and everyone else replies "hooray!"

   Patterns

   • Hip hip hooray!
   • Hip hip hurrah!
   • someone called, "hip hip"

   At the end of the party, Uncle Ray stood up and called, "Hip hip!" and we all shouted, "Hooray!"

   After the final goal, the whole stadium was chanting, "Hip hip hooray!"

   "Hip hip!" called the teacher, and the children answered as loudly as they could.

2. 2interjectionformal

   Used, usually three times in a row, to give three cheers as a formal way of honoring a person or event.

   Grammar: At formal events the caller repeats the call three times; each "hip hip" gets its own "hooray" back.

   Patterns

   • three cheers: hip hip, hip hip, hip hip
   • give someone three cheers
   • Hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray, hip hip hooray!

   The toastmaster raised his glass and led the room: "Hip hip!" — "Hooray!" — "Hip hip!" — "Hooray!" — "Hip hip!" — "Hooray!"

   In the old club tradition, the members give the retiring captain three cheers: hip hip, hip hip, hip hip.

   The children practiced the three cheers for the school concert: "Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray! Hip hip hooray!"

Common combinations

hip hip hooray

The crowd finished the speech with a loud "hip hip hooray".

hip hip hurrah

Older guests remembered cheering "hip hip hurrah" at weddings.

call "hip hip"

The coach called "hip hip" and the team answered together.

give someone three cheers

Let's give the winners three cheers — hip hip, hip hip, hip hip!

lead a cheer

The captain stood on a chair to lead a cheer for the retiring teacher.

answer with a cheer

When he shouted "hip hip", everyone answered with a cheer.

Synonyms and how they differ

hooray

This is the reply the group shouts back, not the call itself, so it comes after "hip hip" rather than replacing it.

hurrah

A slightly older-sounding version of the same answering shout; it fits formal or traditional settings better than everyday ones.

bravo

Also shouts praise, but it is used mainly for performers such as singers or actors, not as a lead-in call for a group cheer.

Word family

cheer noun

A shout of support or praise; "hip hip" is one way of starting one.

cheer verb

To shout in support of someone; the group cheers when it answers "hooray".

Commonly confused: hip hip or hip? hip hip or hooray?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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