American English

Definition of hook noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary



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  1. 1a curved piece of metal, plastic, or wire for hanging things on, catching fish with, etc. a picture/curtain/coat hook a fish hook Hang your towel on the hook. see also boathook
  2. 2(in boxing) a short hard blow that is made with the elbow bent a left hook to the jaw
  3. 3 (in golf) a way of hitting the ball so that it curves sideways instead of going straight ahead
  4. 4 a thing that is used to make people interested in something The images are used as a hook to get children interested in science. Well-chosen quotations can serve as a hook to catch the reader's interest.
  5. 5 a part of a pop or rock song that makes it easy to remember There's an unforgettable hook in each and every song.
  6. Idioms
    by hook or by crook
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    using any method you can, even a dishonest one
    hook, line, and sinker
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    completely What I said wasn't true, but he fell for it (= believed it) hook, line, and sinker.
      off the hook (informal)
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    1. 1no longer in difficulty or trouble He apologized but she did not want to let him off the hook so easily. I don't think we're off the hook yet.
    2. 2if you leave or take the telephone off the hook, you take the receiver (= the part that you pick up) off the place where it usually rests, so that no one can call you
    ring off the hook
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    (usually used in the progressive tenses) (of a telephone) to ring many times The phone has been ringing off the hook with offers of help.
See the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary entry: hook