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Synonyms

hookah

American  
[hook-uh] / ˈhʊk ə /
Or hooka

noun

  • hookahs
    plural
  1. a tobacco pipe of Near Eastern origin with a long, flexible tube by which the smoke is drawn through a jar of water and thus cooled.


hookah British  
/ ˈhʊkə /

noun

  1. Also called: hubble-bubble.   kalian.   narghile.   water pipe.  an oriental pipe for smoking marijuana, tobacco, etc, consisting of one or more long flexible stems connected to a container of water or other liquid through which smoke is drawn and cooled

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of hookah

First recorded in 1755–65, hookah is from the Arabic word ḥuqqah box, vase, pipe for smoking

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

But a good bet is Zikrayat, which will be showing the games on five big-screen TVs and offering food and hookah specials for the duration.

From The Wall Street Journal Jun. 11, 2026

From coastal Jableh, her paternal family’s home, she recalls the aromas of “flavored hookah smoke, nuts toasting on carts, and boiled sweet corn.”

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 24, 2026

Local media said it happened as patrons queued to enter a hookah and cigar lounge.

From BBC Sep. 23, 2024

He also wrote of the better memories before the massacre, including his vivid image of Mr. Anwar’s father, Bashir Ahmad, smoking his hookah in the courtyard.

From New York Times Aug. 14, 2022

They sat on low-seated woven stools, a brass hookah between them.

From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed

Their waiter Amir, who preferred not to share his last name, ferried packed peach-and-pineapple hookahs and tall glasses of pressed watermelon juice from the cafe’s kitchen to the table.

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 28, 2026

In an open-air, bustling café in Nasr City in Cairo, dozens of newly arrived refugees huddle in small groups, puffing on hookahs, sharing stories about their homeland.

From BBC Oct. 26, 2024

That sound spurred families bearing bags of food, pots of coffee, coolers of soda, grills, hookahs and lots of children into action, scrambling up iron ladders to settle into the train’s wooden cars.

From New York Times Jun. 11, 2022

The popular pipes, also known as hookahs and narghiles, are often passed between friends, potentially transmitting the virus.

From Washington Post Dec. 31, 2021

Other servants maintained the fires in the hookahs.

From "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

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