noun · 3 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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/ˈhuːplɑ/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:HH UW1 P L AA2
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
A bustling to-do, excited speech or noise.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A carnival game in which the player attempts to throw hoops around pegs.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
blatant or sensational promotion
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Earlier houp-la, hoop la, first attested in c. 1877, probably from French houp-là, oup-là (“upsadaisy, upsy-daisy”), a cry to various animals close to humans like horses and dogs, of likely onomatopoeic origin (but see là). Compare interjections like whoop, ahoy, hoo.
Across languages
Translations
8 source translations are retained for this English entry.
German:
Bohei
— clamour, brouhaha
German:
Gedöns
— clamour, brouhaha
German:
Rummel
— clamour, brouhaha
Macedonian:
вре́ва
(vréva)
— clamour, brouhaha
Russian:
кутерьма́
(kuterʹmá)
— clamour, brouhaha
Russian:
шуми́ха
(šumíxa)
— clamour, brouhaha
Russian:
ажиота́ж
(ažiotáž)
— clamour, brouhaha
Greek:
κρίκοι
(kríkoi)
— a carnival with throwing hoops