whoop
Americannoun
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a loud cry or shout, as of excitement or joy.
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the sound made by a person suffering from whooping cough.
verb (used without object)
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to utter a loud cry or shout in expressing enthusiasm, excitement, etc.
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to cry as an owl, crane, or certain other birds.
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to make the characteristic sound accompanying the deep intake of air following a series of coughs in whooping cough.
verb (used with object)
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to utter with or as if with a whoop.
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to whoop to or at.
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to call, urge, pursue, or drive with whoops.
to whoop dogs on.
interjection
verb phrase
idioms
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whoop it up,
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to raise a disturbance, as to celebrate noisily.
They whooped it up after winning the big game.
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to stir up enthusiasm, as for an idea or project.
Every spring they whoop it up for the circus.
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not worth a whoop, to be worthless.
Their promises aren't worth a whoop.
verb
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to utter (speech) with loud cries, as of enthusiasm or excitement
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med to cough convulsively with a crowing sound made at each inspiration
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(of certain birds) to utter (a hooting cry)
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(tr) to urge on or call with or as if with whoops
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informal
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to indulge in a noisy celebration
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to arouse enthusiasm
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noun
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a loud cry, esp one expressing enthusiasm or excitement
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med the convulsive crowing sound made during a paroxysm of whooping cough
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informal worthless
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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whoopsimple
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whoopssimple
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have whoopedperfect
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has whoopedperfect
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am whoopingprogressive
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are whoopingprogressive
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is whoopingprogressive
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have been whoopingperfect progressive
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has been whoopingperfect progressive
Past
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whoopedsimple
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had whoopedperfect
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was whoopingprogressive
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were whoopingprogressive
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had been whoopingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whoop
1350–1400; Middle English whopen, Old English hwōpan to threaten; cognate with Gothic hwopan to boast
Explanation
A whoop is a noise you make when you're celebrating something exciting. Just listen to the whoops and cheers from the crowd when your school's basketball team unexpectedly wins the championship! The joyful hooting of friends hearing your good news, the cheers of fans celebrating a bowler's strike, or the call of a cowboy urging a horse forward — these are all whoops. You can use this word as a verb too, as when you whoop with joy or laughter, or in the colloquial phrase whoop it up, meaning "have a blast." Whoop sometimes also used for the distinctive cough of someone suffering from pertussis, also known as whooping cough.
Vocabulary lists containing whoop
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Several years ago, on a cross-Atlantic literary festival where Shriver was an invited author, I observed a packed audience whoop and cheer Shriver’s mordant observations about everything wrong with the world.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026
The smash-up of the fantastical and the familiar is disorienting and gets even stranger when the reckless kids start to whoop like they’re on Muscle Beach.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 16, 2025
As the male lead entered the stage in a new production of “Romeo and Juliet” in London, a single, very loud whoop erupted from the orchestra level.
From New York Times • May 24, 2024
The theater of Mountlake Terrace High School, the alma mater of Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone, rippled with excited whispers and the occasional whoop during Sunday night’s Oscar watch party.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 10, 2024
When I said yes, Mr. Ferro yelled my answer to his machinists and I heard a whoop.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
