hoover

¹

[ hoo-ver ]

verb (used with object)

, (often initial capital letter)

1. to clean with a vacuum cleaner.

Hoover

²

[ hoo-ver ]

noun

1. Herbert (Clark), 1874–1964, 31st president of the U.S. 1929–33.
2. J(ohn) Edgar, 1895–1972, U.S. government official: director of the FBI 1924–72.
3. Lou Henry, 1874–1944, U.S. First Lady 1929–33 (wife of Herbert Hoover).
4. a town in N central Alabama.

Hoover

¹

/ ˈhuːvə /

noun

1. a type of vacuum cleaner

verb

1. to vacuum-clean (a carpet, furniture, etc)
2. troften foll byup to consume or dispose of (something) quickly and completely

   he hoovered up his grilled fish

Hoover

²

/ ˈhuːvə /

noun

1. HooverHerbert (Clark)18741964MUSPOLITICS: statesmanPOLITICS: head of state Herbert ( Clark ). 1874–1964, US statesman; 31st president of the US (1929–33). He organized relief for Europe during and after World War I, but as president he lost favour after his failure to alleviate the effects of the Depression
2. HooverJ(ohn) Edgar18951972MUSLAW: lawyerPOLITICS: public servant J ( ohn ) Edgar. 1895–1972, US lawyer: director of the FBI (1924–72). He used new scientific methods to combat crime, including the first fingerprint file

Word History and Origins

Origin of hoover¹

First recorded in 1925–30; after the trademark of a vacuum cleaner manufacturer

Example Sentences

Shopping online is just as disheartening, they lamented, because of bots programmed to hoover up products the instant they’re available.

From Los Angeles Times

As artificial intelligence and cloud storage hoover up more and more space on the nation’s computer servers, real estate developers are racing to build new data centers or convert existing buildings to data uses.

From Los Angeles Times

The red carpet at the European Parliament was washed down and hoovered ahead of Sir Keir’s arrival.

From BBC

And Long Beach offers just one example of how personal data is being hoovered up by local governments statewide.

From Los Angeles Times

This company is going to hoover up the entire internet.

From New York Times