Standard Lemma guide

shoo

intj · pron · verb · 6 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

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ʃuː/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uː
  • homophone: shoe
  • homophone: SHU
  • CMU ARPABET: SH UW1 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

intj

Meaning 1

Go away! Clear off!

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal

Examples

  • Shoo, fly, don't bother me!

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: amscray, away with you, be off with you, beat it, begone, bite me, bog off, bug off, bugger off, buzz off, clear off, do one, don't let the door hit you on the way out, forget you, fuck off, gertcha, get to fuck, get bent, get fucked, get knotted, get lost, get out of here, get outta here, get out of my face, get screwed, get stuffed, get you gone, git, go and boil your head, go and eat coke, go away, go chase yourself, go climb a tree, go fly a kite, go fuck your mother, go fuck yourself sideways, go fuck yourself, go jump in the lake, go play in the traffic, go play with yourself, go shit yourself, go suck an egg, go tell your mother she wants you, go to hell, go to Halifax, go to the devil, hadaway and shite, hence, hit the road, hop it, kick rocks, jog on, leave, leave me alone, make like a banana and split, make like a tree and leave, make yourself scarce, naff off, nick off, now go away, off you fuck, on with you, on yer bike, on your bike, piss off, pound sand, push off, rack off, scram, screw off, screw you, shoo, shove off, shit off, skedaddle, sling one's hook, sod off, split, spread out, take a flying fuck at a rolling donut, take a flying fuck, take a hike, take a long walk on a short pier, up yours, Entries in Thesaurus:leave, used as imperative verbs., Entries in :Category:English dismissals.

Antonyms: none provided

2

pron

Meaning 2

Alternative form of she.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Yorkshire, alt-of, alternative

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

verb

Meaning 3

To induce someone or something to leave.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, transitive

Examples

  • Don't just shoo away mosquitoes, kill them!
  • See if you can shoo off the insurance salesmen.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

verb

Meaning 4

To leave under inducement.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, intransitive

Examples

  • You kids had better shoo before your parents get a call.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To usher someone.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: informal, rare

Examples

  • Shoo the visitor in.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

drive away by crying `shoo!'

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: shoo off, shoo away

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: chase away, drive out, turn back, drive away, dispel, drive off, run off

History

Etymology

From Middle English schew, schowe, show, showe, scou (“shoo!”, interjection). Compare Middle High German schū, schuo (“shoo!”, interjection) (modern German scheu! (“shoo!”)), Dutch schuwen (“to shun”), German scheuchen (“to scare, drive away”).

From Middle English scho, sheo, scheo, sȝheo, from Old English hēo (“she”). More at she.

Across languages

Translations

105 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 閃 /闪 (shǎn) — go away
  • Chinese Mandarin: 滾啦 /滚啦 — go away
  • Czech: kšá — go away
  • Esperanto: tju — go away
  • Finnish: häivy — go away
  • Finnish: hus — go away
  • French: pschtt — go away
  • French: ouste — go away
  • French: zou — go away
  • Galician: isca — go away
  • Galician: lisca — go away
  • Galician: gache — go away
  • Galician: xo — go away
  • Galician: cache — go away
  • German: husch — go away
  • German: kusch — go away
  • Greek: ουστ (oust) — go away
  • Greek: ξουτ (xout) — go away
  • Greek: δίνε του (díne tou) — go away
  • Hebrew: קִישְׁטָה (kíshta) — go away
  • Hungarian: hess — go away
  • Hungarian: sicc — go away
  • Hungarian: mars — go away
  • Irish: hois — go away
  • Italian: sciò! — go away
  • Italian: pussa via! — go away
  • Italian: vattene! — go away
  • Japanese: シーッシー (shīsshī) — go away
  • Japanese: シッシ (shisshi) — go away
  • Japanese: 叱 (shi') — go away
  • Korean: 쉬이 (swii) — go away
  • Lithuanian: štiš! — go away
  • Macedonian: мрш (mrš) — go away
  • Macedonian: иш (iš) — go away
  • Malay: siuh — go away
  • Malay: syiuh — go away
  • Malay: syuh — go away
  • Norwegian: trekk unna — go away
  • Polish: sio — go away
  • Polish: a kysz — go away
  • Polish: afe — go away
  • Portuguese: xô — go away
  • Russian: кыш! (kyš!) — go away
  • Russian: брысь! (brysʹ!) — go away
  • Russian: кшш! (kšš!) — go away
  • Russian: пшёл! (pšol!) — go away
  • Serbo-Croatian: ши̏ц — go away
  • Serbo-Croatian: и̏ш — go away
  • Serbo-Croatian: šȉc — go away
  • Serbo-Croatian: ȉš — go away
  • Spanish: ox — go away
  • Spanish: os — go away
  • Swedish: sjas — go away
  • Swedish: schas — go away
  • Tatar: перс (pers) — go away
  • Tatar: көш-көш (köş-köş) — go away
  • Turkish: kış! — go away
  • Turkish: kışt! — go away
  • Turkish: kışak! — go away
  • Ukrainian: киш! (kyš!) — go away
  • Unami: push — go away
  • Bulgarian: изпъждам (izpǎždam) — to induce someone to leave
  • Bulgarian: прогонвам (progonvam) — to induce someone to leave
  • Chinese Mandarin: 閃 /闪 (shǎn) — to induce someone to leave
  • Chinese Mandarin: 滾開 /滚开 (gǔnkāi) — to induce someone to leave
  • Finnish: hätistää — to induce someone to leave
  • Finnish: hätistellä — to induce someone to leave
  • Finnish: ajaa tiehensä — to induce someone to leave
  • Finnish: häätää — to induce someone to leave
  • French: zou — to induce someone to leave
  • Galician: botar — to induce someone to leave
  • Galician: axotar — to induce someone to leave
  • Galician: espaxotar — to induce someone to leave
  • Galician: escorrentar — to induce someone to leave
  • Galician: espantar — to induce someone to leave
  • German: scheuchen — to induce someone to leave
  • German: verscheuchen — to induce someone to leave
  • Greek: διώχνω (dióchno) — to induce someone to leave
  • Hungarian: elhesseget — to induce someone to leave
  • Japanese: 叱する (shissuru) — to induce someone to leave
  • Korean: 쉬이하다 (swiihada) — to induce someone to leave
  • Māori: whakahie — to induce someone to leave
  • Polish: pogonić — to induce someone to leave
  • Portuguese: enxotar — to induce someone to leave
  • Russian: прогоня́ть (progonjátʹ) — to induce someone to leave
  • Russian: прогна́ть (prognátʹ) — to induce someone to leave
  • Russian: шуга́ть (šugátʹ) — to induce someone to leave
  • Russian: шугану́ть (šuganútʹ) — to induce someone to leave
  • Spanish: ahuyentar — to induce someone to leave
  • Spanish: correr — to induce someone to leave
  • Spanish: amontar — to induce someone to leave
  • Spanish: zalear — to induce someone to leave
  • Spanish: oxear — to induce someone to leave
  • Spanish: osear — to induce someone to leave
  • Swedish: sjasa — to induce someone to leave
  • Swedish: sjasa bort — to induce someone to leave
  • Swedish: sjasa iväg — to induce someone to leave
  • Turkish: kaçırmak — to induce someone to leave
  • Turkish: kışkışlamak — to induce someone to leave
  • Turkish: kovmak — to induce someone to leave
  • Turkish: kovalamak — to induce someone to leave
  • Finnish: häipyä — to leave under inducement
  • Galician: liscar — to leave under inducement
  • Spanish: amontar — to leave under inducement
  • Spanish: amontarse — to leave under inducement