hooch

¹

or hootch

[ hooch ]

noun

, Slang.

1. alcoholic liquor.
2. liquor illicitly distilled and distributed.

hooch

²

or hootch

[ hooch ]

noun

, Military Slang.

1. a thatched hut of southeast Asia.
2. any living quarters, as a barracks.
3. (especially during the Korean War)
   1. a prostitute's dwelling.
   2. any place, as a house, room, or shack, where a serviceman sets up housekeeping with a local woman.

Hooch

³

[ hooch; Dutch hohkh ]

noun

1. Pie·ter de [pee, -ter d, uh, pee, -t, uh, r, d, uh], 1629?–88?, Dutch painter.

Hooch

¹

/ huːtʃ; hoːx /

noun

1. HoochPieter de1629?1684MDutchARTS AND CRAFTS: painter Pieter de (ˈpiːtər də). 1629–?1684, Dutch genre painter, noted esp for his light effects

hooch

²

/ huːtʃ /

noun

1. informal.
   alcoholic drink, esp illicitly distilled spirits

Word History and Origins

Origin of hooch¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; shortening of hoochinoo

Origin of hooch²

First recorded in 1950–55; probably from Japanese uchi “house” (by back formation, construing -i as -y ² ); initial h perhaps by association with hut or from Ryukyuan dialectal form of uchi with prefixed h-

Word History and Origins

Origin of hooch¹

C20: shortened from Tlingit Hootchinoo, name of a tribe that distilled a type of liquor

Example Sentences

Therefore, the high-priced hooch delivered compliments of the Japanese embassy and three bottles of tequila valued at $450 have remained untapped.

From Seattle Times

In a fit of anger, he took the Guam flag out of his vest and ran it up a makeshift flagpole outside his hooch, 20 feet into the sky, violating military policy.

From New York Times

Your opinion of it might depend on your opinion of spending a 3 a.m. in some dungeon of a bar sipping some sort of unregulated hooch.

From Washington Post

“He volunteered to go to Iraq for a year. Unfortunately, his hooch was right next to one of those burn pits.”

From Washington Times

Other scofflaws are refilling empty premium bottles with cheap hooch and passing them off as the real thing.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• alcohol
• drink
• liquor
• spirits