Hoosier
adj, noun, slang ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 A native or resident of the U.S. state of Indiana.
"Indiana’s Borderlanders called themselves Hoosiers, came from the backcountry of Kentucky and western Virginia, and were ambivalent about slavery."
- 2 Alternative form of Hoosier. alt-of, alternative
- 3 a native or resident of Indiana wordnet
- 4 Someone associated with Indiana University, for example as a student, alum, or sports team member, or as a fan. This is also the university's sports mascot.
- 5 An uneducated, tasteless, boorish white person. slang
"Near-synonym: (Canada) hoser"
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- 6 A kind of cupboard or dresser with shelves, drawers, etc.; a kitchenet. US, historical
- 1 Characteristic of or pertaining to the American state of Indiana. not-comparable
"Less well known but perhaps even more interesting than Stephenson is Court Asher, the second "gentleman" from Indiana. Asher is a more convincing bigot than Stephenson, one more homegrown and more Hoosier than the puffed-up grand dragon, […]"
Example
More examples"Indiana’s Borderlanders called themselves Hoosiers, came from the backcountry of Kentucky and western Virginia, and were ambivalent about slavery."
Etymology
Uncertain. See Wikipedia's article on the subject for theories. Popularized by the 1830 John Finley poem “The Hoosier’s Nest”.
Related phrases
More for "hoosier"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.