hooker

¹

[ hook-er ]

noun

1. a person or thing that hooks. hook.
2. Slang. prostitute.
3. Slang. a large drink of liquor.
4. Slang. a concealed problem, flaw, or drawback; a catch.
5. Rugby. a player who hooks the ball in the front line of scrummage.
6. (initial capital letter) Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to an Amish Mennonite.

hooker

²

[ hook-er ]

noun

, Nautical.

1. Slang. any old-fashioned or clumsy vessel.
2. any fishing vessel working with hooks and lines rather than nets.

Hooker

³

[ hook-er ]

noun

1. Joseph, 1814–79, Union general in the U.S. Civil War.
2. Richard, 1554?–1600, English author and clergyman.
3. Thomas, 1586?–1647, English Puritan clergyman: one of the founders of the colony of Connecticut.

hooker

¹

/ ˈhʊkə /

noun

1. a person or thing that hooks
2. slang.
   1. a draught of alcoholic drink, esp of spirits
   2. a prostitute
3. rugby the central forward in the front row of a scrum whose main job is to hook the ball

Hooker

²

/ ˈhʊkə /

noun

1. HookerJohn Lee19172001MUSMUSIC: blues singerMUSIC: guitarist John Lee. 1917–2001, US blues singer and guitarist
2. HookerSir Joseph Dalton18171911MBritishSCIENCE: botanist Sir Joseph Dalton. 1817–1911, British botanist; director of Kew Gardens (1865–85)
3. HookerRichard15541600MBritishRELIGION: theologian Richard. 1554–1600, British theologian, who influenced Anglican theology with The Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity (1593–97)
4. HookerSir William Jackson17851865MBritishSCIENCE: botanist Sir William Jackson. 1785–1865, British botanist; first director of Kew Gardens: father of Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker

hooker

³

/ ˈhʊkə /

noun

1. a commercial fishing boat using hooks and lines instead of nets
2. a sailing boat of the west of Ireland formerly used for cargo and now for pleasure sailing and racing

Sensitive Note

The Mennonites were irreverently spoken of as Hookers , because they used hooks and eyes on their clothes instead of buttons.

Word History and Origins

Origin of hooker¹

First recorded in 1560–70; in 1835–45 hooker ¹fordef 2, an Americanism; hook ¹ + -er ¹

Origin of hooker²

First recorded in 1635–45; from Dutch hoeker, equivalent to hoek hook ¹ + -er -er ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of hooker¹

C17: from Dutch hoeker

Example Sentences

Explosive bowel movements, hush money to hookers, and “illegal” immigrants who take all the jobs while sitting on their butts not working and getting unemployment are our biggest talking points.

From Salon

Let’s hand it to Trump, though; he spent a lifetime hanging out with hookers, but that doesn’t make him Jesus.

From Salon

Text messages recovered from the 13-year-old’s phone revealed she and her friends joked about driving stolen cars and “hitting hookers,” according to the documents.

From Seattle Times

The long-married father of three girls spiraled into weeks-long binges with drink and drugs, hookers and hangers-on, all the while reaping millions of dollars from deals in China and Ukraine.

From Los Angeles Times

"He's not had as much training under his belt as the other hookers since he picked up that knock to his knee, so Ryan Elias and Elliot Dee are selected for us for this game."

From BBC

Related Words

• prostitute