Meaning & use
hooted
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“hooted” is a form of “hoot”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbintransitive
Made the low, repeated call of an owl, or a similar sound.
Grammar: Takes no object: the owl hooted.
Patterns
- an owl hooted
An owl hooted in the dark forest behind the cabin.
The old steam train hooted as it left the station.
Somewhere in the night, a bird hooted twice and then went quiet.
verbtransitive or intransitiveBritish
Sounded a vehicle's horn briefly, as a warning or greeting.
Grammar: Often used without an object, or with a horn: the driver hooted.
Patterns
- hoot at someone
- hoot the horn
The taxi hooted at the cyclist who drifted into the road.
He hooted twice outside the house to tell us he had arrived.
verbintransitiveinformal
Shouted out in laughter or scorn.
Grammar: Often followed by with or at: hooted with laughter.
Patterns
- hoot with laughter
- hoot at someone
The audience hooted with laughter at the clown's mistake.
The crowd hooted at the referee after the unfair decision.
Word forms
| base form | hoot |
|---|---|
| third person singular | hoots |
| -ing form | hooting |
Common combinations
- hooted with laughter
- The children hooted with laughter at the puppet show.
- an owl hooted
- An owl hooted from the old oak.
- hooted the horn
- She hooted the horn at the slow van.
- hooted in derision
- The crowd hooted in derision at the weak excuse.
- hooted at
- The fans hooted at the losing team.
Synonyms and how they differ
- honked
- Honked is used for car horns and geese, while hooted can also describe owls and laughter.
- jeered
- Jeered only means mocking, but hooted can be amused as well as scornful.
- cackled
- Cackled describes a harsh high laugh, but hooted is louder and deeper.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: hooted or hooked?
hooted vs hooked
Hooked means caught on a hook or addicted; it is not a sound word.
Practice
The audience hooted ___ the comedian's silly joke.
Choose one answer.
Hooted at is used for reacting to a target, such as a joke or person. 'Hooted with' needs a feeling such as laughter after it, so it does not suit here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hooted”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.