hoodlum

[ hood-luhm, hood- ]

noun

1. a thug or gangster.
2. a young street ruffian, especially one belonging to a gang.

hoodlum

/ ˈhuːdləm /

noun

1. a petty gangster or ruffian
2. a lawless youth

Derived Forms

• ˈhoodlumism, noun

Other Words From

• hoodlum·ish adjective
• hoodlum·ism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of hoodlum¹

1870–75, Americanism; probably < dialectal German; compare Swabian derivatives of Hudel rag, e.g. hudelum disorderly, hudellam weak, slack Hudellump ( e ) rags, slovenly, careless person, and related words in other dialects

Word History and Origins

Origin of hoodlum¹

C19: perhaps from Southern German dialect Haderlump ragged good-for-nothing

Example Sentences

He charged that the Bonus march had been largely “organized and promoted by the Communists and included a large number of hoodlums and ex-convicts.”

From Los Angeles Times

The authorities say the curfew is necessary because "hoodlums" have hijacked the protests in order to loot and vandalise properties.

From BBC

She told them, “You rotten hoodlums! What are you doing in this town?” she recalled in an oral history interview.

From New York Times

As with the original, this new version approaches the outlaw life from the perspective of the filthy rich bosses, trying to manage a business staffed by unreliable hoodlums.

From New York Times

Shakima Tozay was 37 years old and six months pregnant when a nurse, checking the fetal heart rate of the baby boy she was carrying, referred to him as “a hoodlum.”

From New York Times

Related Words

• criminal
• delinquent
• gangster
• goon
• hooligan
• mobster
• punk
• ruffian
• thug