🎣 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

9 7.4

To hit a ball so it spins and moves to the left

verb
/hʊk/

Specialized

: enganchar

With a chance to beat the Cardinals at home, Gostkowski hooks a 42-yard field goal wide left in the final seconds.
hook the ball
slice or hook
hook a tee shot

Examples

Hook it at the bottom.

Racing Stripes (2005)
Last week he was hooking the ball too far to the left.

Blog text (28)
Hook to the left, hook to the side--

Stir Crazy (1980)
Meantime, I believe you hooked your ball.

Bringing Up Baby (1938)
She slid in at the last minute and hooked the ball off the line, saving a certain goal.

Next Goal Wins (2023)
When a left-hander hits a ball down the right field line, it doesn't slice; it hooks.

Blog text (30)
During the match, he accidentally hooked the ball, sending it curving sharply to the left.
When he tries to adjust his stance, his shots often hook unexpectedly, veering off-course.
As the golfer swung, he noticed that his drive hooked precisely into the thick rough on the left.

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 Curved

to hook

Specialized

9 7.4

curve

Jargon

42 6.7

Surface Forms

hook infinitive

hooked past

hooked past participle

hooking present participle

hooks third person singular

Etymology

Hook as a sports verb to make a ball go left comes from the same idea of a 'curve' (from hoc), so to hook a shot is to make it curve away like a hook.