/ hʊd; NAmE / noun
1.
a part of a coat, etc. that you can pull up to cover the back and top of your head :
a jacket with a detachable hood
—picture at anorak
2.
a piece of cloth put over sb's face and head so that they cannot be recognized or so that they cannot see
3.
a piece of coloured silk or fur worn over an academic gown to show the kind of degree held by the person wearing it
4.
( especially BrE ) a folding cover over a car, etc. :
We drove all the way with the hood down.
—picture at pushchair
5.
( NAmE ) = bonnet (2)
6.
a cover placed over a device or machine, for example, to protect it :
a lens hood
an extractor hood (= one that removes cooking smells from a kitchen)
7.
( slang , especially NAmE ) = hoodlum (1)
8.
(also 'hood ) ( slang , especially NAmE ) a neighbourhood, especially a person's own neighbourhood
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WORD ORIGIN
senses 1 to 6 Old English hōd , of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch hoed , German Hut hat, also to hat .
sense 7 1930s: abbreviation of hoodlum .
sense 8 1970s: shortening of neighbourhood .