Standard Lemma guide

hooky

adj · noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • /ˈhʊki/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • homophone: hookey
  • homophone: hookie
  • rhymes with -ʊki
  • CMU ARPABET: HH UH1 K IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Full of hooks (in any sense).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Sew the hooky half of the Velcro on the inner side so that it doesn't pick up fluff.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Shaped like or resembling a hook; hooked.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Dodgy; crooked; illicit.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Absence from school or work; truancy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable

Examples

  • Let's play hooky and go to the mall.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: beaking, bunking, bobbing, cutting class, dipping, ditching, dogging, going on the hop, going on the lang, going on the mitch, jigging, kidding, mitching, pawning, pipping, playing hooky, poning, sculling, self-motivated field trip, skipping, skiving, skidgin, sluffing, truancy, truantness, tula, wagging

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

failure to attend (especially school)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: truancy

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: nonattendance

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English hook Proto-Indo-European *-kos Proto-Germanic *-gaz Proto-West Germanic *-g Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English hooky From hook + -y.

First attested in 1848 in New York City. Most likely from Dutch hoekje (“nook, corner; 'spot to hide' in hide-and-seek”). Formerly, "hoekje spelen" could be used to mean "to play hide-and-seek", though the common term for the game nowadays is verstoppertje. By surface analysis, hook + -y.