Link Centre Dictionary

whoop

UK/wʊp/ US/ʍʊp/ fairly common informal
verb (2) noun (1)

verb

1.

shout, as if with joy or enthusiasm

  • “The children whooped when they were led to the picnic table”
2.

cough spasmodically

  • “The patient with emphysema is hacking all day”
Synonyms

noun

1.

a loud hooting cry of exultation or excitement

Origin

From Middle English whopen, whowpen, howpen, houpen (“to whoop, cry out”), partially from Old French houper, hopper, houpper (“to shout”), from Proto-West Germanic *hwōpan, from Proto-Germanic *hwōpaną (“to boast, threaten”) (compare Gothic 𐍈𐍉𐍀𐌰𐌽 (ƕōpan, “to boast”), Old English hwōpan (“to threaten”)); and partially from Middle English wop (“weeping, lamentation”), from Old English wōp (“cry, outcry, shrieking, weeping, lamentation”), from Proto-West Germanic *wōp, from Proto-Germanic *wōpaz (“shout, cry, wail”) (compare Old Norse ópa (“to cry, scream, shout”), Gothic 𐍅𐍉𐍀𐌾𐌰𐌽 (wōpjan, “to cry out”)).

Phrases

  • big whoop
  • millennial whoop
  • open a can of whoop ass
  • war whoop
  • whoop ass
  • whoop it up
  • whooping cough
  • whooping crane

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.