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Hoot vs Whistle - What's the difference?

hoot | whistle | Synonyms |

As nouns the difference between hoot and whistle

is that hoot is a derisive cry or shout while whistle is a device designed to be placed in the mouth in order, or driven by steam or otherwise, to make a whistling sound.

As verbs the difference between hoot and whistle

is that hoot is to cry out or shout in contempt while whistle is to make a shrill, high-pitched sound by forcing air through the mouth. To produce a whistling sound, restrictions to the flow of air are created using the teeth, tongue and lips.

hoot

English

Noun

(en noun)
  • A derisive cry or shout.
  • The cry of an owl.
  • (US, slang) A fun event or person. (See hootenanny)
  • A small particle
  • * 1878 , John Hanson Beadle, Western Wilds, and the Men who Redeem Them , page 611, Jones Brothers, 1878
    • Well, it was Sunday morning, and the wheat nothing like ripe; but it was a chance, and I got onto my reaper and banged down every hoot of it before Monday night.

    Usage notes

    * (small particle) The term is nearly always encountered in a negative sense in such phrases as don't care a hoot'' or ''don't give two hoots . * (derisive cry) The phrase a hoot and a holler'' has a very different meaning to ''hoot and holler''. The former is a short distance, the latter is a verb of ''derisive cry .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To cry out or shout in contempt.
  • * Dryden
    • Matrons and girls shall hoot at thee no more.
  • To make the cry of an owl.
  • * Shakespeare
    • the clamorous owl that nightly hoots
  • To assail with contemptuous cries or shouts; to follow with derisive shouts.
  • * Jonathan Swift
    • Partridge and his clan may hoot me for a cheat.

    See also

    * hooter * hootenanny

    Anagrams

    * ----

    whistle

    English

    (wikipedia whistle)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A device designed to be placed in the mouth in order, or driven by steam or otherwise, to make a whistling sound.
  • An act of whistling.
  • A shrill, high-pitched sound made by whistling.
  • *
    • , title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine.
  • Any high-pitched sound similar to the sound made by whistling.
    • the whistle of the wind in the trees
  • (Cockney rhyming slang) A suit (from whistle and flute ).
  • * 2005 , Wally Payne, A Minority of One: A Monkey's Tale Continued
    • We soldiers changed into our No.1 dress uniforms, Sid into his best whistle and we set off for the church.
  • The mouth and throat; so called as being the organs of whistling.
  • * Walton
    • Let's drink the other cup to wet our whistles .

    Derived terms

    * bells and whistles * * it's not the whistle that pulls the train * wet one's whistle * whistle-blower * whistle pig * whistle-stop * whistle walk

    Verb

    (whistl)
  • (ambitransitive) To make a shrill, high-pitched sound by forcing air through the mouth. To produce a whistling sound, restrictions to the flow of air are created using the teeth, tongue and lips.
    • Never whistle at a funeral.
    She was whistling a happy tune.
  • To move in such a way as to create a whistling sound.
    • A bullet whistled past.
  • To send, signal, or call by a whistle.
  • * Addison
    • He chanced to miss his dog; we stood still till he had whistled him up.

    Derived terms

    * whistle Dixie * whistle in the dark * whistle past the graveyard

    See also

    * (wikipedia "whistle")