ballyhoo

noun

bal·​ly·​hoo ˈba-lē-ˌhü 

plural ballyhoos

1

: a noisy attention-getting demonstration or talk

2

: flamboyant, exaggerated, or sensational promotion or publicity

3

: excited commotion

ballyhoo transitive verb

Synonyms

• ado
• alarums and excursions
• blather
• bluster
• bobbery
• bother
• bustle
• clatter
• clutter [chiefly dialect]
• coil
• commotion
• corroboree [Australian]
• disturbance
• do [chiefly dialect]
• foofaraw
• fun
• furor
• furore
• fuss
• helter-skelter
• hoo-ha
• hoo-hah
• hoopla
• hubble-bubble
• hubbub
• hullabaloo
• hurly
• hurly-burly
• hurricane
• hurry
• hurry-scurry
• hurry-skurry
• kerfuffle [chiefly British]
• moil
• pandemonium
• pother
• row
• ruckus
• ruction
• rumpus
• shindy
• splore [Scottish]
• squall
• stew
• stir
• storm
• to-do
• tumult
• turmoil
• uproar
• welter
• whirl
• williwaw
• zoo

Examples of ballyhoo in a Sentence

it turned out that the ballyhoo was the result of a movie being filmed on the street

the usual ballyhoo intended to fill the seats at megaplexes around the country

Recent Examples on the Web

Having been pretty much unanimously declared the loser of the verbal ballyhoo, Drake has since taken the feud down a different avenue – accusing record label Universal Music of illicitly boosting the track on streaming services and radio. —Rebecca Messina, The Week Uk, theweek, 30 Dec. 2024

At this point, The Rock already had one foot out the door toward Hollywood, and the win would matter less in his career than the overall ballyhoo of the match. —Daniel Dockery, Vulture, 18 July 2024

For all the ballyhoo about the total solar eclipse this past April, the event didn’t stir up much in the way of conspiracy thinking. —Eric Olson, Washington Post, 7 July 2024

Curiously, there seemed to be no VIP or movie star ballyhoo; instead, as The Times wrote, the inaugural passengers on the north-to-south trip were 150 L.A.-area schoolkids. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2023

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1901, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

ballyhoo

noun

bal·​ly·​hoo ˈbal-ē-ˌhü 

: extravagant statements and claims made for publicity

ballyhoo verb