toot

¹

[ toot ]

verb (used without object)

1. (of a horn or whistle) to give forth its characteristic sound.
2. to make a sound resembling that of a horn, whistle, or the like.
3. to sound or blow a horn, whistle, or wind instrument.

verb (used with object)

1. to cause (a horn, whistle, or wind instrument) to sound.
2. to sound (notes, music, etc.) on a horn or the like.

noun

1. an act or sound of tooting.
2. Slang. cocaine.

toot

²

[ toot ]

noun

, Slang.

1. a period or instance of drunken revelry; binge; spree:

   Those idiots went on a toot last night and spent the night in the slammer.

toot

³

[ toot ]

noun

, Australian Informal.

1. lavatory; toilet.

toot

⁴

[ toot ]

noun

, Chiefly Pennsylvania German.

1. a paper bag.
2. a paper cone used as a container.

toot

¹

/ tuːt /

noun

1. an informal name for tutu 2

toot

²

/ tuːt /

verb

1. to give or cause to give (a short blast, hoot, or whistle)

   to toot a horn

   to toot a blast

   the train tooted

noun

1. the sound made by or as if by a horn, whistle, etc
2. slang.
   any drug for snorting, esp cocaine
3. slang.
   a drinking spree
4. slang.
   tʊt a lavatory

Derived Forms

• ˈtooter, noun

Other Words From

• tooter noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of toot¹

First recorded in 1500–10; akin to Low German, German tuten, Dutch toeten, Swedish tuta in the same sense; imitative of the sound; 1975–80 toot ¹fordef 7

Origin of toot²

First recorded in 1670–80; origin uncertain

Origin of toot³

First recorded in 1945–50; perhaps jocular alteration of toilet

Origin of toot⁴

From Pennsylvania Dutch dutt; compare German Tüte, from Low German tüte “something horn-shaped, paper rolled into the shape of a horn”; toot ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of toot¹

C16: from Middle Low German tuten, of imitative origin

Example Sentences

The morning after the ceremony, as they waved off guests who were returning to the mainland, the crew saluted the newlyweds with a toot of the horn.

From BBC

When elephants release sex pheromones, start randomly tooting or begin rubbing against each other, this is not chaotic or random behavior.

From Salon

“I don’t like tooting my horn,” he said, but he continued: “You don’t have to be that big to know what you are doing.”

From New York Times

Following Sonko’s release Thursday night, Dakar was thronged with thousands of people singing and dancing as convoys of supporters drove around tooting horns and young people piled onto motorbikes and trucks.

From Seattle Times

The conductor would signal the engineer that passengers needed to disembark, and the engineer “would respond with two toots of the whistle,” he writes.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• honk