hook

noun

/hʊk/

Idioms

jump to other results

enlarge image

a curved piece of metal, plastic or wire for hanging things on, catching fish with, etc.
- a picture/curtain/coat hook
- a fish hook
- Hang your towel on the hook.
- The key was hanging from a hook.
- Your coat’s hanging on a hook behind the door.
see also boathook, fish hook
Wordfinder
- bait
- bite
- dragnet
- fishing
- fly
- hook
- line
- net
- rod
- trawl
(in boxing) a short hard hit that is made with the elbow bent
- a left hook to the jaw
(in cricket and golf) a way of hitting the ball so that it curves to the side instead of going straight ahead (usually by mistake in golf, but deliberately in cricket)Topics Sports: ball and racket sportsc2
a thing that is used to make people interested in something
- The images are used as a hook to get children interested in science.
- Well-chosen quotations can serve as a hook to catch the reader’s interest.
Topics Feelingsc2

Word OriginOld English hōc, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hoek ‘corner, angle, projecting piece of land’, also to German Haken ‘hook’.

Idioms

by hook or by crook

hook, line and sinker

completely
- What I said was not true, but he fell for it (= believed it) hook, line and sinker.

off the hook

having got free from a difficult situation or a punishment
- I lied to get him off the hook.
- No way will she let you off the hook this time.
- I was finally off the hook.
(becoming old-fashioned) if you leave or take a landline phone off the hook, you take the receiver (= the part that you pick up) off the place where it usually rests, so that nobody can call youTopics Phones, email and the internetc2

on the hook for something

(North American English, informal) responsible for paying for something
- Citizens are increasingly on the hook for more of their own medical costs.

ring off the hook

(usually used in the progressive tenses) (of a phone) to ring many times, with one phone call after another
- The phone has been ringing off the hook with offers of help.

sling your hook

verb

/hʊk/

Verb Forms

present simple I / you / we / they hook	/hʊk/ /hʊk/
he / she / it hooks	/hʊks/ /hʊks/
past simple hooked	/hʊkt/ /hʊkt/
past participle hooked	/hʊkt/ /hʊkt/
-ing form hooking	/ˈhʊkɪŋ/ /ˈhʊkɪŋ/

Phrasal Verbs

jump to other results

[transitive, intransitive] to fasten or hang something on something else using a hook; to be fastened or hanging in this way
- hook something + adv./prep. We hooked the trailer to the back of the car.
- + adv./prep. a dress that hooks at the back
Extra Examples
- He hooked the rope over a branch.
- The boat was moored to an anchor firmly hooked into the bank.
[transitive, intransitive] to put something, especially your leg, arm or finger, around something else so that you can hold onto it or move it; to go around something else in this way
- hook something + adv./prep. He hooked his foot under the stool and dragged it over.
- She hooked her arm through her sister’s.
- He managed to hook his fingers under the stone.
- Her thumbs were hooked into the pockets of her jeans.
- Hook the rope through your belt.
- He hooked an arm around her neck.
- + adv./prep. Suddenly an arm hooked around my neck.
[transitive] hook something to catch a fish with a hook
- It was the biggest pike I ever hooked.
- (figurative) She had managed to hook a wealthy husband.
[transitive] hook something (especially in golf, cricket or football (soccer)) to hit or kick a ball so that it goes to one side instead of straight ahead (usually by mistake in golf but deliberately in other sports)
- He hooked his drive into the trees.
- I hooked the first ball for a six.
- He hooked his shot over the bar.
- Try and hook the ball around the defenders.

Word OriginOld English hōc, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch hoek ‘corner, angle, projecting piece of land’, also to German Haken ‘hook’.