Meaning & use
spook
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableinformalhumorous
A ghost or spirit that people believe appears in a particular place.
Grammar: Can be used with an or the, and has a plural: two spooks.
Patterns
- a spook in something
The children swore a spook lived in the attic.
Every Halloween, the old house is said to be full of spooks.
He dressed as a friendly spook with a white sheet.
verbtransitiveinformal
To frighten someone or startle an animal so that it reacts suddenly, often by running away.
Grammar: Takes an object: the noise spooked the horse.
Patterns
- spook someone
- be spooked by something
A loud clap of thunder spooked the horses in the field.
The strange phone call really spooked me.
Rumors about layoffs spooked investors, and prices fell.
nouncountableslang
A spy or secret agent.
Grammar: Often refers to intelligence officers in news or fiction: a former spook.
Patterns
- a former spook
The novel follows a retired spook who is pulled back into one last mission.
Several spooks attended the quiet meeting in Vienna.
Word forms
| plural | spooks |
|---|---|
| third person singular | spooks |
| past tense | spooked |
| past participle | spooked |
| -ing form | spooking |
Common combinations
- spook a horse
- A plastic bag blew past and spooked the horse.
- get spooked
- The hikers got spooked when they heard footsteps behind them.
- spook the markets
- The surprise announcement spooked the markets.
- easily spooked
- Deer are easily spooked, so approach slowly.
- a former spook
- The author is a former spook who writes thrillers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- scare
- Scare is the everyday, neutral word, while spook suggests a sudden, slightly irrational jolt of fear.
- startle
- Startle focuses on the brief jump of surprise and may involve no real fear at all.
- unnerve
- Unnerve is more formal and describes a slower loss of confidence than the quick reaction of spook.
- ghost
- Ghost is the standard word for a spirit, whereas spook sounds playful or old-fashioned.
Opposites
Word family
- spooked adjective
- frightened or nervous
- spooky adjective
- eerie and frightening in a mysterious way
- spookily adverb
- in an eerie way
- spookiness noun
- the quality of being eerie
Commonly confused: spook or spoof?
spook vs spoof
A spoof is a humorous imitation of something, not a ghost or a fright.
Practice
Which word best completes the sentence? The sudden bang from the fireworks ___ the horses, and they bolted across the field.
Choose one answer.
Spooked is the past tense of the verb meaning to startle. Soothed means the opposite, spoofed means imitated humorously, and spooky is an adjective.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “spook”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.