spook

[ spook ]

noun

1. Informal. a ghost; specter.
2. Slang. a ghostwriter.
3. Slang. an eccentric person.
4. Slang: Extremely Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Black person.
5. Slang. an espionage agent; spy.

verb (used with object)

1. to haunt; inhabit or appear in or to as a ghost or specter.
2. Informal. to frighten; scare.

verb (used without object)

1. Informal. to become frightened or scared:

   The fish spooked at any disturbance in the pool.

spook

/ spuːk /

noun

1. a ghost or a person suggestive of this
2. a spy
3. slang.
   any pale or colourless alcoholic spirit

   spook and diesel

verb

1. to frighten

   to spook a person

   to spook horses

2. (of a ghost) to haunt

Sensitive Note

When referring to a black person, the term spook dates back to the 1940s. It is used with disparaging intent and is perceived as highly insulting. Black pilots who trained at Tuskegee Institute during World War II were called the Spookwaffe. Some sources say that black pilots reclaimed this derogatory nickname as a self-referential term of pride.

Derived Forms

• ˈspookish, adjective

Other Words From

• spooker·y noun
• spookish adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of spook¹

An Americanism first recorded in 1795–1805; from Dutch; cognate with German Spuk

Word History and Origins

Origin of spook¹

C19: Dutch spook, from Middle Low German spōk ghost

Example Sentences

And he just so happens to be the hardest-working spook on the planet.

From The Daily Beast

Few people knew better than Orson Welles how to spook an entire country.

From The Daily Beast

Authorities in Moscow claim to have arrested an American spook wearing wigs and carrying an incriminating letter.

From The Daily Beast

A third test will, therefore, further spook nervous allies and create a new sense of vulnerability among Americans.

From The Daily Beast

From suave Jack Ryan to smarmy Eugene Kittridge, potential candidates for America's next top spook.

From The Daily Beast

More than with the "spook," however, was the public mind agitated by other rumors which touched upon "south meadow."

From Project Gutenberg

A speck is a minute spot, and among the ancients a speck or dot within a circle was the symbol of the central Spook or Spectre.

From Project Gutenberg

It gets me what she was doing in that spook place alone at night.

From Project Gutenberg

How do you connect this gentlemanly spook with the treasure, your Excellency?

From Project Gutenberg

I think there is more in this spook story than Colonel McClure knows of, or, at least, will admit.

From Project Gutenberg