# hook

Pronunciation: say "HUUK" /hʊk/

## Noun

1. A curved length of metal or other material, with one end open for catching or holding and the other fastened to a support.
   - Simple: A bent piece of metal used to hold, hang, or catch something.
   - _The climber clipped her rope to a hook anchored in the rock face._
   - _Two hooks on the wall held the heavy iron pans._
4. A barbed, curved piece of metal used with a line to catch fish.
   - Simple: A small, sharp, curved piece of metal used to catch fish.
   - _She tied a fresh hook to the end of her line._
   - _The trout took the hook and dove deep._
5. A catchy musical phrase that forms the central, memorable basis of a popular song.
   - Simple: A short, catchy part of a song that you remember easily.
   - _The producer built the entire track around a four-note hook._
   - _Pop songs often repeat the hook to make it unforgettable._
7. Something in a creative work, story, or presentation, such as a gimmick, idea, or opening line, meant to grab an audience's attention and keep them interested.
   - Simple: An idea or opening that catches people's interest and makes them want to keep reading or watching.
   - _The novel's hook, a detective who cannot lie, sold the publisher instantly._
   - _Screenwriters pitch the hook before anything else in the room._
8. A punch delivered with the arm held rigid and partly bent, the fist traveling nearly horizontally in an inward arc.
   - Simple: A punch thrown with a bent arm that swings in from the side.
   - _The champion's left hook ended the fight in the third round._
   - _He ducked under the jab but walked straight into a hook._
9. The needle with a curved, hooked tip that a crocheter uses to draw loops of yarn through one another.
   - Simple: A curved needle used to make crochet by pulling loops of yarn.
   - _The pattern calls for a size-five hook and fine cotton thread._
   - _For thick yarn, you need a much bigger crochet hook than this one._
10. A point in a system's operation that can be intercepted to change or extend its behavior.
   - Simple: A place in a program where you can add or change how it works.
   - _The framework exposes a hook that runs custom code before each save._
   - _She registered a hook to log every request the server handled._
11. A sand or gravel spit, or narrow cape, whose outer tip curves back toward the shore, as at Sandy Hook, New Jersey.
   - Simple: A long, thin strip of sand or gravel that bends back toward land at its end.
   - _Sailors anchored safely in the bay sheltered by the hook._
   - _Erosion slowly reshaped the hook curling out from the shoreline._
16. In basketball, a shot in which a player, usually turned sideways to the basket, lofts the ball with a sweeping upward arm motion that finishes above the head.
   - Simple: In basketball, a one-handed shot where a player sweeps the ball up and over toward the basket.
   - _The center's hook arced over two defenders and fell cleanly through the rim._
   - _He developed a reliable hook to score from close range._
17. The angle that ties a news story or opinion piece to some current event or trend, giving it timeliness.
   - Simple: A link to a recent event or trend that makes a news story feel timely.
   - _The flood's anniversary gave the paper a news hook for the story._
   - _The editor liked the essay but asked for a hook tied to this week's election._
18. In golf, a shot that curves unintentionally to the left for a right-handed player.
   - Simple: In golf, a shot that curves sharply to the left by mistake for right-handed players (to the right for left-handed players).
   - _A nasty hook sent his tee shot deep into the left rough._
   - _The coach traced her hook back to a closed clubface._
19. In baseball, a curveball; a pitch thrown to break downward and to the side as it nears the plate.
   - Simple: In baseball, a pitch that curves as it flies toward the batter.
   - _Her hook buckled the knees of every hitter she faced._
   - _The rookie kept swinging early at a sharp-breaking hook._
20. Removal or forced exit from a group, job, or activity. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Being made to leave a group or activity.
   - _After the scandal, the host finally got the hook from the network._
   - _Volunteers who never showed up soon got the hook from the committee._
22. The fixed part of a hinge, mounted on a post, on which a door or gate hangs and turns.
   - Simple: The fixed part of a hinge on a post that a door hangs on and turns.
   - _The blacksmith fitted a new hook to the gatepost so the door would hang straight._
   - _The heavy gate swings on two iron hooks set into the stone post._
23. A snare; a trap; something set to catch or entangle.
   - Simple: A trap or snare meant to catch or trick someone.
   - _The discount was a hook designed to ensnare unwary customers._
   - _Investigators realized the email was a hook meant to trap them._
25. In cricket, a shot played by swinging the bat horizontally across a short-pitched ball rising to about head height, sending it behind square on the leg side.
   - Simple: In cricket, a swing of the bat that hits a high ball away to the leg side.
   - _A perfectly timed hook sent the bouncer racing to the leg-side boundary._
   - _He mistimed the hook and skied a catch to fine leg._
26. A grip or hold that gives one an advantage over an opponent or situation.
   - Simple: A hold or position that gives you an advantage.
   - _The clever clause gave her lawyers a useful hook in the dispute._
   - _Once she had a hook on her opponent's arm, the match was nearly over._
27. The hook-shaped curl that some written letters, such as g and j, have at the bottom.
   - Simple: A curved loop, like a hook, found below some written letters such as g and j.
   - _Her handwriting gave every g a long curling hook below the line._
   - _The script's j tailed off into a delicate hook._
12. In bowling, a ball sent down the lane on a curving path instead of a straight one.
   - Simple: In bowling, a ball that curves as it rolls toward the pins.
   - _Many league bowlers switch from a straight ball to a hook once they can control the spin._
   - _The lanes were so oily that her hook barely curved before it reached the pins._

## Verb

2. To attach, fasten, or connect one thing to another, especially with a hook; also, to become attached in this way.
   - Simple: To attach or connect one thing to another, often using a hook.
   - _The technician hooked the new monitor into the existing system._
   - _You can hook several devices together on one network._
3. To make someone addicted to or captivated by something.
   - Simple: To make someone want something so much they cannot stop.
   - _The show's cliffhanger hooked viewers from the very first night._
   - _A good mystery can hook readers within the opening pages._
6. To catch a fish or other creature by snagging it on a hook.
   - Simple: To catch a fish or other animal using a hook.
   - _Anglers hook salmon as they swim upstream to spawn._
   - _He hooked a marlin that fought for nearly an hour._
15. To ensnare or bind someone with an obligation, as if catching them on a hook.
   - Simple: To catch someone in a trap or a promise they cannot easily get out of.
   - _The lender hooked borrowers with low rates that later soared._
   - _Subscription traps hook customers into payments they forget to cancel._
21. To crochet; to form a fabric or article by looping yarn with a hooked needle.
   - Simple: To make cloth by pulling yarn through loops with a small hooked tool.
   - _Volunteers hook warm hats for the shelter every fall._
   - _He hooked a colorful rug for the hallway._
24. To work as a prostitute; to engage in prostitution for payment. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To work as a prostitute.
   - _Young runaways sometimes hook to survive on the streets._
   - _She admitted she had hooked for a few years before getting help._
13. To put something into or through an opening so that it curves the way a hook does.
   - Simple: To put something, bent like a hook, into or through something else.
   - _Hook a finger into the ring and pull the tab back slowly._
   - _The climber hooked the toe of her boot into a narrow crack and rested her arms._
14. In basketball, cricket, or golf, to hit or throw the ball with the stroke known as a hook shot.
   - Simple: In basketball, cricket, or golf, to hit or throw the ball with a kind of shot called a hook.
   - _Tall centers learn to hook over a defender because the shot is so hard to block._
   - _The batter hooked a short ball over the boundary for six._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A diacritical mark shaped like the upper part of a question mark, placed above a letter, as in ỏ.
- (noun) A prostitute; a person who sells sexual services for payment.
- (noun) A ship's anchor, the heavy device dropped to hold a vessel in place.
- (noun) A farm tool with a curved blade, such as a billhook or a sickle.
- (noun) One of the bony points that stick out at the top of a cow's hindquarters, also called a hook bone.
- (noun) A field that is planted with crops for two years in a row.
- (noun) A finesse in card games, an attempt to win a trick with a lower card by betting on which opponent holds a higher one.
- (noun) The jack in a deck of playing cards, in card players' slang.
- (noun) In Scrabble and similar games, a play that adds a letter to either end of an existing word, with that letter also part of a new word at right angles.
- (noun) A háček, the small v-shaped mark placed over letters such as č.
- (noun) How much spin a bowler puts on the ball.
- (noun) One of the V-shaped stripes on a sleeve that show a soldier's rank.
- (noun) A thief who steals from people's pockets or bags.
- (noun) The section of a wave that is still unbroken, also called the shoulder.
- (noun) A bent, knee-shaped timber linking a cog's keel with its stem or sternpost, also used in similar ships.
- (verb) To take something that is not yours.
- (verb) To win someone as a husband or wife.
- (verb) To win the ball from a scrum by heeling it back, done especially by the team's hooker.
- (verb) To trip or hold up an opponent with one's hockey stick.
- (verb) To make a kicked or thrown ball bend in the air.
- (verb) In a word game, to add one letter to a word already placed so as to form a new word crossing it.
- (verb) To finesse in card games, trying to win a trick with a lower card by betting on which opponent holds a higher one.
- (verb) Of cattle, to attack and wound with the horns.
- (verb) To be bent or curved like a hook.
- (verb) To make a sudden turn while moving.

## Origin

From Middle English hoke, from Old English hōc, going back through Proto-West Germanic *hōk and Proto-Germanic *hōkaz, and probably ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European root *kog-/*keg- meaning "peg, hook, claw." It is related to Dutch haak ("hook") and West Frisian heak.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hook (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).