🎣 To attract 🎣 An attraction 🪝 To attach 🪝 A curved device 💊 To addict 🥊 A side punch 💃 To sell sex 🧶 To crochet ⛳ A curved shot ⛳ To curve 🥊 To punch sideways ➰ A curved shape 🏀 A curved shot 💸 To overcharge 💻 A callback 🦹 To steal

to hook

11 7.1

To hit someone with a short swinging punch from the side

verb
/hʊk/

Specialized

: dar un gancho

Good, now jab, right, hook.
hook a left
hook a right

Examples

I hooked him twice.

Payne & Redemption (2022)
Before he had a chance to catch his breath, you hooked him.

Vivacious Lady (1938)
Because if you lead with your right hand, left hook!

Nil by Mouth (1997)
Right hook, left hook, combination.

A Plumm Summer (2008)
Hook him in the jaw.

American Heart (1992)
Right hook, slip!

Real Steel (2011)
Jocko waded into him, swinging his left hand, which hooked into Lem's right temple.

Fiction book (1994)
The man to his right swung a sharp left that hooked into Blackjack's right side just above the belt, and Blackjack doubled over.

Fiction book (1999)
In the boxing match, he decided to hook his opponent with a powerful punch to the jaw.
She trained to hook her rival with a quick left, aiming to catch him off guard.

Synonyms

to hit

vsto hook

∞ 1.0

To strike someone or something with force

is a particular boxing move rather than a general forceful contact

to punch

vsto hook

455 1.4

To hit someone or something quickly with a closed fist

is a specific boxing technique rather than a general closed fist strike

to smack

vsto hook

164 3.5

To hit someone or something with an open hand

is a sideways boxing blow using a closed fist rather than an open hand

to catch

vsto hook

132 3.5

To hit someone or something often by surprise

is delivered deliberately as one boxing technique rather than occurring unexpectedly

Idioms

off the hook

Informal

105 5.9

No longer in trouble or responsible for something

on the hook

Informal

26 7.7

Responsible for paying or doing something, often unwillingly

off the hook

Slang

14 8.2

Very exciting and impressive

by hook or by crook

Informal

1 8.1

Using any way to get something done no matter what it takes

to take your hook

Archaic

9.9

Leave a place quickly because you are not welcome

to sling one's hook

Archaic

9.9

To leave quickly because people do not want you there

Phrasal Verbs

to hook up

213 3.7

To connect devices so they work together

to hook up

NSFW

132 8.7

To meet someone for a brief romantic or sexual encounter

to let off the hook

Informal

64 4.1

To free someone from blame or punishment

to hook it to the mainframe

Specialized

7.4

To connect a device to a main computer so it can send and receive data

Compounds

grappling hook

4 5.7

A set of hooks on a rope used to catch and hold things like a wall or ship

meat hook

3 4.8

A strong pointed hook for hanging dead animals in a butcher shop

hook shot

Specialized

3 3.6

A basketball shot made by sweeping the arm and releasing the ball high with the hand farthest from the basket

crochet hook

1 3.2

A needle with a small hook at one end used to pull yarn through loops to make fabric

hook and eye

1 3.6

A small metal piece with a hook that fits into a loop to hold clothes closed

bench hook

8.8

A wooden block attached to a bench that holds wood steady while you cut or shape it

boat hook

3.9

A long pole with a hook used to push, pull, or catch things near boats

bolus hook

Specialized

9.9

A small part in a Jacquard loom that lifts warp threads to make patterns

cant hook

Specialized

9.8

A long handle with a metal hook used to move and turn logs

catchy hook

3.2

A short easy to remember musical phrase that repeats in a song

catchy hook

3.5

An opening line or idea that quickly gets people's attention

cup hook

3.5

A small metal hook that you screw under a shelf to hang cups by the handles

dog hook

9.9

A strong metal bar with a sharp point that you use to move logs

ear hook earring

6.3

An earring that fits over the edge of the ear without needing a piercing

arrester hook

Specialized

9.9

A device on a plane that catches a wire on a carrier deck to stop the plane quickly during landing

fire hook

7.7

A metal rod with a handle used to move burning logs or stir hot embers

Hook of Holland

6.1

A cape and town on the southwest coast of the Netherlands that has a ferry port

hook spanner

7.6

A tool with a hooked end that turns round nuts with notches

hook wrench

Specialized

6.4

A tool with a hooked end for turning round nuts or bolt heads without flat sides

hook-nosed

8.0

A person with a long curved nose like a bird's beak

pruning hook

7.2

A tool with a long handle and a curved blade used to cut small tree branches and shrubs

reap hook

9.8

A hand tool with a curved blade and short handle for cutting grass or crops

reaping hook

Archaic

8.3

A small hand tool with a curved blade and short handle for cutting wheat and grass

How Forceful

to knock out

NSFW

210 4.3

uppercut

Specialized

18 5.4

to hook

Specialized

11 7.1

jab

Specialized

61 2.8

to graze

31 3.7

tap

66 1.0

Surface Forms

hook infinitive

hooked past

hooked past participle

hooking present participle

hooks third person singular

Etymology

Hook as a verb meaning to hit with a hook follows from the noun for the punch, so to hook someone is to strike them with that curved, side punch.