Ahoy
//əˈhɔɪ// intj, noun, verb
intj, noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An utterance of this interjection.
"There were many ahoys heard from the approaching ship."
Verb
- 1 To hail with a cry of "ahoy".
Intj
- 1 Used to hail a ship, a boat or a person, or to attract attention.
"While he was thus occupied, a voice, still more uncouth than the former, bawled aloud, ‘Ho! the house, a-hoy!’"
- 2 Warning of something approaching or impending. humorous
"Lawsuits, ahoy! […] Towns can regulate use of their beaches. But what about the waters offshore?"
Example
More examples"Ahoy! Can you see us in this fog?"
Etymology
From a- + hoy (a nautical call used in hauling), from Middle English hoy (interjection), a greeting dating back to the fourteenth century. Compare Dutch hoi (“hi!, hello!”).
Related phrases
More for "ahoy"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.