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See also: Hose, hōse, and hőse


A US naval officer using a fire hose
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From Middle English hose (leggings, hose), from Old English hose, hosa (hose, leggings), from Proto-Germanic *husǭ (coverings, leggings, trousers), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kew- (to cover). Compare West Frisian hoas (hose), Dutch hoos (stocking, water-hose), German Hose (trousers). Compare Tocharian A kać (skin), Russian кишка́ (kišká, gut), Ancient Greek κύστις (kústis, bladder), Sanskrit कोष्ठ (koṣṭha, intestine). More at sky.



hose (countable and uncountable, plural hoses or hosen)

  1. (countable) A flexible tube conveying water or other fluid.
  2. (uncountable) A stocking-like garment worn on the legs; pantyhose, women's tights.
  3. (obsolete) Close-fitting trousers or breeches, reaching to the knee.
    • Bible, Daniel iii. 21
    • Shakespeare

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hose (third-person singular simple present hoses, present participle hosing, simple past and past participle hosed)

  1. (transitive) To water or spray with a hose.
    • 1995, Vivian Russell, Monet's Garden: Through the Seasons at Giverny[1], ISBN 9780711209886, page 83:
  2. (transitive) To deliver using a hose.
    • 2003, Tony Hillerman, The Sinister Pig, ISBN 0061098787, page 57:
      He had just finished hosing gasoline into his tank, a short man, burly, needing a shave, and wearing greasy coveralls.
  3. (transitive) To provide with hose (garment)
    • 1834 July to December, Pierce Pungent, “Men and Manners”, in Fraser's magazine for town and country[2], volume X, page 416:
      The mighty mass of many a mingled race,
      Who dwell in towns where he pursued the chase;
      The men degenerate shirted, cloaked, and hosed-
      Nose and eyes only to the day exposed
  4. (transitive) To attack and kill somebody, usually using a firearm.
    • 2003, John R. Bruning, Jungle ace[3], Brassey's, ISBN 9781574886948, page 136:
  5. (transitive) To trick or deceive.
    • 1995, Keath Fraser, Popular anatomy[4], The Porcupine's Quill, ISBN 9780889841499, page 458:
  6. (transitive, computing) To break a computer so everything needs to be reinstalled; to wipe all files.
    • 2006 Spring, Joel Durham Jr., “Pimp Out Win XP with TweakUI”, in Maximum PC[5], Future US, Inc., ISSN 1522-4279, page 63:


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