Ballyhoo

//bæliˈhuː// noun, verb, slang

noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Sensational or clamorous advertising or publicity. informal
  2. 2
    Certain species in family Hemiramphidae, inshore, surface-dwelling needlefish forming sizeable schools.
  3. 3
    An unseaworthy or slovenly ship.
  4. 4
    blatant or sensational promotion wordnet
  5. 5
    Noisy shouting or uproar. informal

    "Talk, it's only talk / Babble, burble, banter / Bicker, bicker, bicker / Brouhaha, balderdash, ballyhoo / It's only talk / Back talk"

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    Certain species in family Hemiramphidae, inshore, surface-dwelling needlefish forming sizeable schools.; Hemiramphus brasiliensis
Verb
  1. 1
    To sensationalize or make grand claims. informal, transitive

    "Industry has picked up, railroads are carrying more freight, farm prices are better, but I am not going to indulge in issuing proclamations of over-enthusiastic assurance. We cannot ballyhoo ourselves back to prosperity."

  2. 2
    advertize noisily or blatantly wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
hooplaadvertiseadvertisementaggrandizeaggrandizementamplification

Example

More examples

"Talk, it's only talk / Babble, burble, banter / Bicker, bicker, bicker / Brouhaha, balderdash, ballyhoo / It's only talk / Back talk"

Etymology

Etymology 1

A shortening of the Irish village Ballyhooly, known for its rowdiness.

Etymology 2

From Spanish balajú.

Etymology 3

Possibly from Spanish balahú (“schooner”).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.