What does "hooker" mean?
One who, or that which, hooks.
Hooker
/ˈhʊk.ɚ/ name, noun, slang
name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One who, or that which, hooks.
- Grammar: hooker is listed as name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: argosy, b-girl, bark, bawd.
- Useful contrasts: backrow forward, client, customer.
- Usage evidence: We've reached the point where a street hooker is explaining how to make something of yourself!
How to use "hooker"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "hooker" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "hooker" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "hooker" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "hooker" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "hooker" is acting as name, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "argosy" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "hooker", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One who, or that which, hooks.
- 2 A prostitute. US, slang
"All my life, been hustling / And tonight is my appraisal / 'Cause I'm a hooker selling songs / And my pimp's a record label"
- 3 Alternative spelling of hookah. alt-of, alternative
- 4 A small fishing boat.
"In England there are Brighton Beach boats, Centre-board sloops, Pollywogs, Lough Erne yachts, Unas, New Brighton sailing-boats, yachts of the Norfolk Broads, Itchen, Clyde sailing and Keystone boats, Penzance luggers, Cobbles, Galways, Hookers and Pookhauns […]"
- 5 (rugby) the player in the middle of the front row of the scrum who tries to capture the ball with the foot wordnet
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 A player who hooks the ball out of the scrum with his foot.
"Hooker Dylan Hartley was sent to the sin-bin after yet another infringement at the breakdown and, on the stroke of half-time, Georgia's territorial advantage finally told when number eight Basilaia surged over from the base of the scrum for a try next to the posts."
- 7 An imprecise measure of alcoholic drink; a "slug" (of gin), or an overlarge gulp. dated, slang
"Emily had cut short these 3 A.M. glooms with a hooker of bourbon."
- 8 Any antiquated craft. derogatory, slang
"[T]he poor Flash is gone, and there is an end of it. Poor old hooker. Hey, Almayer? You made a voyage or two with me. Wasn’t she a sweet craft?"
- 9 a golfer whose shots typically curve left (for right-handed golfers) wordnet
- 10 A batsman or batswoman adept at or fond of playing hook shots.
"I once saw Hassett drop England opening batsman and compulsive hooker, Cyril Washbrook, twice in succession at deep fine leg."
- 11 a prostitute who attracts customers by walking the streets wordnet
- 12 A crocheter.
- 13 Synonym of hook (“attention-grabbing element of a creative work”). dated, informal
"We regard the first seven seconds of a television commercial as the most critical or crucial in the whole unit — the "Do or Die Seven" — the "moment of decision" or the "hooker", if you will, when we must capture the attention of the viewer, get him involved in the action, […]"
- 14 A thief who uses a pole with a hook on the end to steal goods. archaic
"They are sure to be clyd in the night by the angler, or hooker, or such like pilferers that liue upon the spoyle of other poore people."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname originating as an occupation for a maker of hooks.
- 2 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Tehama County, California.
- 3 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Dade County, Georgia.
- 4 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Clay County, Kentucky.
- 5 A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town in Pulaski County, Missouri.
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A number of places in the United States:; Two townships in Nebraska, in Dixon County and Gage County.
- 7 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Fairfield County, Ohio.
- 8 A number of places in the United States:; A small city in Texas County, Oklahoma.
- 9 A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Turner County, South Dakota.
Example
"We've reached the point where a street hooker is explaining how to make something of yourself!"
Common questions
What is a synonym for "hooker"?
Common synonyms include: argosy, b-girl, bark, bawd, bitch, boat.
How do you use "hooker" in a sentence?
We've reached the point where a street hooker is explaining how to make something of yourself!
How do you pronounce "hooker"?
Pronounced /ˈhʊk.ɚ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From hook (verb) + -er.
Etymology 2
Unknown. The "prostitute" sense is the subject of a folk etymology connecting it to General Hooker of the American Civil War, but the earliest known use dates to 1835, decades before the war. Less implausibly, it has also been connected to a coastal feature called a hook (“A spit or narrow cape of sand or gravel turned landward at the outer end, such as Sandy Hook in New Jersey, Red Hook in New York”) in the ports of New York and Baltimore. Carefully learned inference is not conclusive. See this essay, pp 105ff.
Etymology 3
From Dutch hoeker, an alteration of Middle Dutch hoecboot, from hoec + boot.