shoo
1 of 2interjection
ˈshü 
—used especially in driving away an unwanted animal
shoo
2 of 2verb
shooed; shooing; shoos
transitive verb
: to scare, drive, or send away by or as if by crying shoo
shooed us away from the kitchen
Example Sentences
Verb We tried to help her, but she shooed us away. He shooed the cat out of the house.
Recent Examples on the Web
Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2022 But the sequence is intended to represent night, and to shoo a night scene during the dy requires blue sky and direct sunlight. San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Aug. 2022 Having to shoo and swat mosquitoes at the same time? Laura Daily, Washington Post, 6 July 2022 Plop it on Madison Avenue and flustered tourists may shoo it away. Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, 22 Aug. 2022 Players occasionally had to shoo them away with their rackets, and bird droppings were an annoyance for groundskeepers. Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2022 Hartley rushed across the camp loop to watch as other campers and Anchorage Health Department workers attempted to shoo the bears away with the airhorn, shouts and clapping. Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2022 But there was no cabin in the woods, no pan-banging to shoo away strangers, nor any little girl holed up in a pioneer dress. The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 May 2022 He, his brother, Clifton, and their younger sister, Georgia, were raised in life jackets and learned survival skills, such as how to dig clams for dinner and shoo away black bears, early on. Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 7 May 2022 See More
Verb
When subtlety didn’t work, the Emmys started to play music to try to shoo Coolidge off the stage. Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 12 Sep. 2022 But the sequence is intended to represent night, and to shoo a night scene during the dy requires blue sky and direct sunlight. San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Aug. 2022 Having to shoo and swat mosquitoes at the same time? Laura Daily, Washington Post, 6 July 2022 Plop it on Madison Avenue and flustered tourists may shoo it away. Jacob Gallagher, WSJ, 22 Aug. 2022 Players occasionally had to shoo them away with their rackets, and bird droppings were an annoyance for groundskeepers. Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2022 Hartley rushed across the camp loop to watch as other campers and Anchorage Health Department workers attempted to shoo the bears away with the airhorn, shouts and clapping. Emily Goodykoontz, Anchorage Daily News, 30 June 2022 But there was no cabin in the woods, no pan-banging to shoo away strangers, nor any little girl holed up in a pioneer dress. The Salt Lake Tribune, 22 May 2022 He, his brother, Clifton, and their younger sister, Georgia, were raised in life jackets and learned survival skills, such as how to dig clams for dinner and shoo away black bears, early on. Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 7 May 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Interjection
Middle English schowe
First Known Use
Interjection
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Verb
circa 1798, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing shoo
Kids Definition
shoo
verb
ˈshü
shooed; shooing
: to wave, scare, or send away
She shooed us out of the kitchen.
Hint: Shoo is often used as a command. Shoo! Go outside.