hooray

Pluralhoorays

Formshoorays, hooraying, hoorayed

1. 1
   interjection

   Used to express approval, joy, or a feeling of victory.

   Hooray! The results came back, and she passed every exam.

   When the announcement came, the whole office erupted in a chorus of "Hooray!"

   Similaryay, hurrah, yippee, woohoo, bravo

   Oppositeboo

   Note

   An exclamation whose origin nobody has pinned down; it first turns up in the late 17th century. One suggestion makes it an alteration of huzzah, though that link is doubtful. Another ties it to a cheer shared across northern Europe: German, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian hurra, Icelandic húrra, Dutch hoera. The same shout also does duty as a noun (a rousing hooray) and as a verb (the crowd hoorayed).

2. 2
   nouncountable

   A shout given to signify victory.

   A triumphant hooray echoed across the stadium as the final whistle blew.

   The soldiers greeted the news of their victory with a rousing hooray.

   Similarcheer, hurrah, whoop, shout

   Oppositeboo

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A shout or cry that expresses excitement.

   A delighted hooray escaped her as the curtains rose on the show.

   He couldn't hold back a hooray when the first snow began to fall.

   Similarcheer, whoop, shout, cry, yell

4. 4
   verbintransitive

   To give a loud cry of excitement, as a crowd does when it cheers.

   The crowd hoorayed wildly when the fireworks lit up the sky.

   Children hooray whenever the ice cream truck turns the corner.

   Similarcheer, whoop, shout, yell

   Oppositeboo

5. 5
   nounderogatorycolloquialUKabbreviationellipsis

   Ellipsis of Hooray Henry.

   A pair of red-trousered Hoorays sped past in a vintage sports car.

   He turned out to be exactly the kind of braying Hooray she despised.

   Note

   A British put-down that clips Hooray Henry, the offensively loudmouthed upper-class man, and keeps all of its contempt. It is pluralized like any noun, can be written lowercase, and is often narrowed by a modifier: Kevin Rushby, writing in 2017, sets "hedge-fund hoorays" beside minor royals in the Caribbean. It is colloquial and derogatory, so use it only when the mockery is meant.

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