hooky

1 of 2

adjective

hookier; hookiest
1
: curved or bent like a hook
Her nose was long and hooky, and she had no teeth—or if she had them, they weren't in her mouth.K. C. Constantine
His coal-black, glossy hair commanded and obtained her admiration, and she found his hooky nose to be handsome.Anthony Trollope
2
music : appealing and easy to remember : catchy
a hooky melody/tune/rhythm
… combining scintillating rhythm tracks with a kaleidoscope of hooky musical styles …Dave Marsh
Wild is a vibrant, hooky pop song flavored with Joni Mitchell illusions and funk.Nelson George

hooky

2 of 2

noun

variants or less commonly hookey
Phrases
play hooky or less commonly play hookey
US, informal
: to be away from school without permission
Out on the playground, a boy from another homeroom cavorted around on a dirt bike, doing wheelies. He was playing hooky, but evidently couldn't stay away.Tracy Kidder
When he was a small child [Babe] Ruth was a holy terror. He had incredible energy, was relentlessly active and was always in trouble. He played hooky from school. He stole fruits and vegetables from stores, threw them at truck-drivers and ran and hid from the police.Robert W. Creamer
He [Tom Sawyer] moped to school gloomy and sad, and took his flogging, along with Joe Harper, for playing hookey the day before, with the air of one whose heart was busy with heavier woes and wholly dead to trifles.Mark Twain
also : to be away from work or similar duties in a way likened to a child skipping school
Hawkins is a tanned, muscular man in his 40s who's playing hooky today from his job as a printer's ink chemist. Doug Stewart
Most New Yorkers were at work last Tuesday while the official ceremony was going on—and many of those who played hooky chose to go to the ticker-tape parade for the world champion New York Mets. David Gates
… in 1948 I once played hookey from my radio writing job with Edgar Bergen to play in the Santa Monica Open. Arthur Marx

Examples of hooky in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
But director Roshan Sethi gives the musical interludes some visual pop; and the songs are genuinely hooky. Noel Murray, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2023 And, of course, songs are hooky but have heart. Liza Lentini, SPIN, 29 July 2022
Noun
Several teachers from around New England, for example, played hooky on their students to trek to Uncasville and dish out $125, or more, for nosebleed seats, just to catch Clark’s debut. Sean Gregory / Uncasville, TIME, 15 May 2024 Goldman Sachs doesn’t want its bankers to play hooky at the Paris Olympics 🤔 Corporations have big climate goals. Morgan Haefner, Quartz, 7 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for hooky 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hooky.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably from slang hook, hook it to make off

First Known Use

Adjective

1608, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun

1842, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hooky was in 1608

Dictionary Entries Near hooky

Cite this Entry

“Hooky.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hooky. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

hooky

noun
variants also hookey
plural hookies or hookeys
: truant
play hooky
Last Updated: - Definition revised
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