🎣 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

hook

41 5.8

A short swinging punch thrown from the side with a bent elbow

noun
/hʊk/

Specialized

: gancho

What a beautiful right hook!

Jab, jab, right hook, left hook, uppercut, haymaker, Widowmaker.

Autoplay Next

Examples

You don't want to be on the wrong end of that left hook.

Jack Frost (1998)
The game plan was to look for the left hook.

Bisping (2021)
I say your right hook needs to be worked on!

Money Fight (2021)
His left hook was better, though.

Lights Out (2024)
I got a right hook in the mouth this morning.

Mad Max (1979)
His best weapon, the left hook, is deadly.

Big George Foreman (2023)
And in this photo, I'm landing a left hook on his jaw.
And a left hook jars the challenger.

I Spy (2002)
Barrett blasted him with a left hook and then followed with another right.

Fiction book (1992)
She delivered a powerful hook that surprised her opponent.

Synonyms

punch

vshook

321 1.0

A strong hit with a closed fist used in fighting

is a short swinging side blow with elbow bent rather than a broad strike

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

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

haymaker

Jargon

3 8.1

uppercut

Specialized

18 5.4

hook

Specialized

41 5.8

jab

Specialized

61 2.8

tap

66 1.0

Surface Forms

hook singular

hooks plural

Etymology

Hook for the boxing punch comes from the curved path of the arm, like a hook's shape, so the punch is called a 'hook' because it moves in a tight, bending arc.