Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to play hooky

to play hooky

20 7.7
To stay away from school or work without permission
  • phrasal verb
  • /pleɪ ˈhʊki/
  • Informal
translation icon : hacer novillos (informal, España)
  • But we're gonna play hooky today.
  • play hooky from school
  • play hooky from work
  • playing hooky all day

You know what happened when I was in junior high school, I went to school one day, I got caught playing hooky.

Examples

  • The park was rather empty, just a couple of bums and teenagers playing hooky.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • A recent survey found that 43% of respondents admitted to playing hooky last year.

    Blog text (15)

  • We all play hooky from time to time.

    The Last Kung Fu Monk (2010)

  • I kind of thought maybe I could play hooky today.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • On the first day of school, I played hooky and went on an epic adventure to the beach with my friends.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Check this out, you guys, Mom's playing hooky from work this afternoon.

  • I didn't care if anyone saw me playing hooky from school.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • So you'd all play hooky from school and go over to his house.

    Academic text (1990)

  • I think she's mulling over whether she can play hooky from her responsibilities and do something fun.

    Blog text (6)

  • I decided to play hooky from work and enjoy a day at the beach.

Synonyms

to bunk
vsto play hooky
  • UK
1 8.5

To miss school or work without permission

is the same idea but expressed as a short phrase
to bunk off
vsto play hooky
  • UK
1 9.8

Stay away from school or work without permission to do something more fun

is absence without permission but not always for pleasure
to goldbrick
vsto play hooky
  • Archaic
1 9.5

To avoid work by pretending to be busy

is staying away without permission rather than shirking via pretense
to play the wag
vsto play hooky
  • UK
9.9

Pretend to be ill to avoid going to work or school

is absence without pretending illness as the reason

Antonyms

to attend
∞ 1.7

To be present at a meeting or event

How Often

to bunk off
  • UK
1 9.8
to play hooky
  • Informal
20 7.7
to skip
  • Informal
147 3.7
to miss
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

play hooky infinitive
played hooky past
played hooky past participle
playing hooky present participle
plays hooky third person singular

Morphology

play + hooky

If a learner knows 'play' (to engage in) and 'hooky' (the act of skipping school or work), the meaning 'to engage in skipping school/work' is directly derivable by regular composition. The pattern 'play + [activity noun]' is common in English (e.g., play games), so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily understand the MWE, though 'hooky' itself is colloquial and may be unknown to some learners.

Etymology

The idiom play hooky may come from a children's hiding game called hooky, where kids would play and hide instead of going to class. That's why it now means 'to stay away from school or work without permission'.