English dictionary — definitions & meanings

hon

noun

An affectionate way of addressing someone; short for "honey".

honcho

noun

The person in charge; the boss.

honda

noun

The loop at the end of a lasso that the rope's other end slides through to form the noose.

Hondo

name

A city in Medina County, Texas, and the name of communities in Alberta, Canada and New Mexico, United States.

Honduras

name

A country in Central America, capital Tegucigalpa.

hone

verb

To sharpen, especially a blade, using a fine stone.

honed

adj

Made sharp or refined through careful practice.

honest

adj

Telling the truth and not inclined to lie, cheat, or steal.

honestly

adv

In a truthful, sincere manner.

honesty

noun

The quality of being truthful and sincere.

honey

noun

A sweet, thick golden liquid made by bees from flower nectar.

honeybunch

noun

Honey, darling (term of endearment).

honeybunny

noun

A term of endearment; honey, sweetheart.

honeycakes

noun

Term of endearment for a young woman.

honeycomb

verb

To riddle something with small holes or tunnels, as bees do with a hive.

Honeycutt

name

A surname of English origin.

honeydew

noun

A variety of melon with smooth pale green flesh and a light-colored rind.

honeymoon

noun

A vacation taken by a couple right after their wedding.

honeymooner

noun

A person currently on their honeymoon.

honeypie

noun

A term of endearment; honey, sweetie, darling.

honeypot

noun

A pot of honey.

honeysuckle

noun

A climbing shrub with fragrant, tube-shaped flowers.

hong

noun

A historical foreign trading company or firm in China.

Hongkong

name

An older spelling of Hong Kong, the city and special administrative region in southern China.

honing

noun

The process of sharpening or refining something.

honk

verb

To sound a car horn, or to make a similar loud, harsh noise.

honker

noun

One who honks.

honking

noun

The act or sound of repeated honks.

honky

noun

A slang, often derogatory, term for a white person, used especially in African-American vernacular.

honky-tonk

noun

A cheap, noisy bar or dance hall, especially in the southern and western United States, where country music is played live.

Honnold

name

A surname of German origin.

Honolulu

name

The capital and largest city of Hawaii, located on the island of Oahu.

honor

noun

Great respect or high regard, often earned through integrity or achievement.

honora

name

A female given name from Latin, mainly used in Ireland.

honorable

adj

Acting with integrity and deserving respect.

honorary

adj

Given as a mark of respect, without the usual requirements or payment attached.

Honore

name

A surname of French origin, also a former name of the Indian town of Honnavar.

honored

adj

US standard spelling of honoured.

Honoria

name

A feminine given name of Latin origin, the feminine form of Honorius.

honorific

noun

A person's title, such as "Mrs" or "Doctor".

honors

adj

Studying or graded at an advanced, high-achieving academic level.

honour

noun

The British spelling of honor — high respect, or a sense of what is morally right.

honourable

adj

The British spelling of honorable — deserving respect for good, fair, or moral conduct.

honoured

adj

Shown great respect, or made to feel proud and grateful for special recognition.

hoo

pron

A dialect or archaic form of "she" or "he," used in some regional English speech as a gender-neutral third-person pronoun.

hoobae

noun

An underclassman or junior, in the context of Korea.

hooch

noun

Alcohol, especially cheap, homemade, or illegally produced liquor.

hoochie

noun

A slang, often disparaging term for a woman seen as dressing or behaving in an overtly sexual way.

hood

noun

A loose covering for the head, often part of a jacket or coat.

hooded

adj

Wearing, fitted with, or shaped like a hood.

hoodie

noun

A sweatshirt with a built-in hood, often with a large front pocket.

hoodlum

noun

A violent or lawless young troublemaker; a small-time thug.

hoodoo

noun

A folk-magic tradition developed by enslaved and later free African Americans, blending African spiritual practices with other influences.

hoodwink

verb

To cover the eyes with, or as if with, a hood; to blindfold.

hooey

noun

Nonsense; foolish or dishonest talk.

hoof

noun

The hard covering on the foot of animals such as horses, cattle, and deer.

hoofed

adj

Having a hoof or hooves; ungulate.

hoofer

noun

A professional dancer, particularly one who has paid his or her dues.

hook

noun

A curved piece of metal or other material used to catch, hold, or hang something.

hook up

phrasal verb

To have a casual sexual encounter with someone, usually without being in a relationship with them.

hookah

noun

A water pipe with a long flexible tube, traditionally used for smoking flavoured tobacco.

Hooke

name

An English surname, notably borne by scientist Robert Hooke; also the name of a village in Dorset, England.

hooked

adj

Curved like a hook.

hooker

noun

Rugby: the player in the front row of the scrum who hooks the ball back with their foot.

hooking

noun

The act of catching, fastening, or connecting something with a hook.

Hooks

name

An English surname.

hookup

noun

A connection between devices, systems, or people.

hooky

noun

Unauthorized absence from school or work, as in "play hooky."

hool

noun

Clipping of hooligan (“a young person who causes trouble or violence, typically as a member of a gang or other group”).

hoolie

noun

Short for hooligan (“a young person who causes trouble or violence, typically as a member of a gang or other group”).

hooligan

noun

A violent or destructive troublemaker, especially one acting as part of a rowdy group.

hooliganism

noun

Violent, destructive, or rowdy behaviour typical of hooligans.

hoon

noun

Australian/NZ slang for someone who drives fast, loudly, or recklessly.

hoop

noun

A circular band of metal, wood, plastic, or similar material.

hooper

noun

Someone who performs tricks with a hula hoop.

hoopla

noun

Excited fuss, commotion, or hype surrounding an event.

hoops

noun

Informal name for the sport of basketball.

hooray

intj

An exclamation of joy, approval, or triumph.

hoot

noun

The low, mournful call of an owl.

Hooten

name

An English surname.

hootenanny

noun

An informal, festive performance by folk singers, often including audience participation with the use of acoustic instruments.

hooter

noun

British informal: a car horn, or a siren/whistle that signals the start or end of work.

hooters

noun

Crude slang for a woman's breasts.

hootie

interjection

Used only in the exclamation "hootie hoo," a shout of excitement or triumph.

hooting

noun

The act or sound of hooting, as an owl calling or a crowd jeering.

Hoover

noun

British informal: a vacuum cleaner, regardless of brand.

hoovered

adj

Having been cleaned with a vacuum cleaner; vacuum-cleaned.

hooverize

verb

To be economical in the use of a resource, particularly food.

hop

noun

A short jump, especially on one leg or foot.

hope

verb

To want something to happen and believe it might.

hopeful

adj

Feeling or expressing hope; expecting a good outcome.

hopefully

adv

In a way that shows hope.

hopefulness

noun

The property of being hopeful.

hopeless

adj

Without hope; expecting nothing good to happen.

hopelessly

adv

In a way that shows no hope, or to a degree beyond repair.

hopelessness

noun

A complete lack of hope; despair.

Hopi

noun

A member of a Native American people of northeastern Arizona.

hoping

verb

Present participle of hope: wishing for or expecting something good.

hopped

verb

Past tense of hop: jumped on one leg, or moved with small bounding jumps.

hopper

noun

A funnel-shaped container that holds material and releases it from the bottom, used in machines, silos, and drainpipes.

hopping

noun

The action of jumping on one leg or with small bounds.

hoppy

adj

Having a strong taste of hops.

hops

noun

The flowers of the hop plant, used to flavour and preserve beer.

hopscotch

noun

A children's game of hopping through a pattern of numbered squares chalked on the ground.

hora

noun

A circle dance traditional in the Balkans, Israel, and Jewish culture worldwide.

Horace

name

A male given name of Latin origin, notably borne by the Roman poet Horace.

Horatio

name

A male given name of Latin origin, notably borne by the character in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

horde

noun

A large, often unruly crowd of people.

hordeolum

noun

stye, sty. An infection of a sebaceous gland of the eyelid. This is distinguished from a chalazion, which is not infected, but a cyst formed from an impacted meibomian gland of the eyelid.

hori

noun

Informal New Zealand term for a Māori person.

horizon

noun

The line in the distance where the sky appears to meet the land or sea.

horizontal

adj

Level and flat; parallel to the ground rather than upright.

horizontally

adv

In a flat, level direction or position.

horlicks

noun

A hot bedtime drink made with malted milk.

hormonal

adj

Relating to hormones.

hormone

noun

A chemical made by one part of the body and carried in the blood to affect another part.

hormones

noun

Plural of hormone; often used loosely to mean hormone treatment or hormonal changes.

horn

noun

A hard, pointed growth on the head of certain animals, such as cattle, goats, or rhinos.

hornblende

noun

A green to black amphibole mineral, of complex structure, formed in the late stages of cooling in igneous rock.

hornblower

noun

Someone (or something) that blows a horn, especially as a signal or in music.

Horne

name

A surname.

horned

adj

Having horns.

horner

noun

A craftsman who works with animal horn to make objects.

hornet

noun

A large, aggressive wasp with a painful sting.

horniness

noun

Quality of being horny, of having a texture like horn.

horny

adj

Informal: sexually aroused.

horologe

noun

Synonym of sundial or clock, a device or mechanism used to tell the hour of the day.

horologer

noun

Synonym of horologist, a person skilled in horology, a maker or maintainer of timekeeping devices.

horologist

noun

A person skilled in horology, particularly a person who makes or repairs timekeeping devices.

horologium

name

Synonym of Tower of the Winds, a monument in ancient Athens that included a clepsydra and multiple prominent sundials.

horoscope

noun

A forecast of a person's character or future based on the position of the stars and planets at their birth.

Horowitz

name

A surname of German and Yiddish origin.

horrendous

adj

Extremely unpleasant, shocking, or bad.

horrible

adj

Causing horror; extremely unpleasant or shocking.

horribly

adv

In a horrible or very unpleasant way; badly.

horrid

adj

Very unpleasant, nasty, or unkind.

horrific

adj

Causing horror; extremely frightening or shocking.

horrified

adj

Feeling shock and horror.

horrify

verb

To cause to feel extreme apprehension or unease; to cause to experience horror.

horrifying

adj

Causing horror; extremely frightening.

horripilating

adj

Causing horripilation.

horripilation

noun

A real or fancied bristling of the hair of the head or body, resulting from disease, terror, chilliness, etc.

horror

noun

A strong feeling of fear, shock, or disgust.

horry

adj

impure; unclean; disgustingly dirty; foul

horse

noun

A large hoofed mammal with a mane and tail, long domesticated for riding, pulling loads, and farm work.

horseback

adverb

Riding on the back of a horse.

horsefeathers

noun

Nonsense; indicates disbelief.

horseflesh

noun

The flesh of a horse; horsemeat.

horseload

noun

The amount that a horse can haul on horseback.

horsely

adj

Pertaining to, relating to, or similar to horses; horselike or equine.