boo-hoo

verb

bü-ˈhü 

ˈbü-ˌhü

variants or boohoo or less commonly boo hoo

boo-hooed or boohooed; boo-hooing or boohooing

intransitive verb

: to weep loudly and with sobs

… even the impeccable Lord Jeffrey, editor of the Edinburgh Review, confessed to having cried—blubbered, boohooed, snuffled, and sighed—over the death of Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop.

—Tom Wolfe

Joey kept boo-hooing like a real idiot.

—Christopher Paul Curtis

—often used as an interjection especially in mocking imitation of another's tears, complaints, unhappiness, etc.

Before she finished her question, one twin and then the other began to cry. "Boohoo, boohoo," Ernie mocked. "I'm not staying with crybabies."

—Nancy Smiler Levinson

He said as long as I was being so pure, why not give her the real scoop on her old man? I said because it would crush her. Boo hoo, he said.

—George Saunders

boo-hoo noun

or boohoo

plural boo-hoos or boohoos

… the tough Garden crowd reacted with boos instead of boo-hoos.

—Richard Johnson

boo-hooing noun

or boohooing

"Woman: cease this detestable boohooing instantly; or else seek the shelter of some other place of worship."

—George Bernard Shaw

No one feels good after being dumped. The loudest boo-hooing seems to be coming from young people …

—Jane Bryant Quinn

Word History

Etymology

imitative

First Known Use

1806, in the meaning defined above