I. hook 1 S3 /hʊk/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hoc ]
1 . HANGING THINGS a curved piece of metal or plastic that you use for hanging things on ⇨ peg :
Tom hung his coat on the hook behind the door.
2 .
CATCHING FISH a curved piece of thin metal with a sharp point for catching fish
3 . let/get somebody off the hook to allow someone or help someone to get out of a difficult situation:
I wasn’t prepared to let her off the hook that easily.
4 . leave/take the phone off the hook to leave or take the telephone ↑ receiver (=the part you speak into) off the part where it is usually placed so that no one can call you
5 . be ringing off the hook American English if your telephone is ringing off the hook, a lot of people are calling you
6 . INTEREST something that is attractive and gets people’s interest and attention SYN draw :
You always need a bit of a hook to get people to go to the theatre.
7 . by hook or by crook if you are going to do something by hook or by crook, you are determined to do it, whatever methods you have to use:
The police are going to get these guys, by hook or by crook.
8 . HITTING SOMEBODY a way of hitting your opponent in ↑ boxing , in which your elbow is bent ⇨ punch , jab
9 . hook, line, and sinker if someone believes something hook, line, and sinker, they believe a lie completely
⇨ ↑ boat hook , ↑ curtain hook , ⇨ sling your hook at ↑ sling 1 (4)
II. hook 2 S3 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
1 . FISH to catch a fish with a hook:
I hooked a 20-pound salmon last week.
2 . FASTEN [always + adverb/preposition] to fasten or hang something onto something else
hook something onto/to something
Just hook the bucket onto the rope and lower it down.
3 . BEND YOUR FINGER/ARM ETC [always + adverb/preposition] to bend your finger, arm, or leg, especially so that you can pull or hold something else:
Ruth hooked her arm through Tony’s.
He tried to hook his leg over the branch.
4 . INTEREST/ATTRACT informal to succeed in making someone interested in something or attracted to something:
cigarette ads designed to hook young people
5 . ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT [always + adverb/preposition] ( also hook up ) to connect a piece of electronic equipment to another piece of equipment or to an electricity supply ⇨ hook-up :
We’ve got a CD player, but it’s not hooked up yet.
hook something together
Computers from different manufacturers can often be hooked together.
6 . BALL to throw or kick a ball so that it moves in a curve
hook up with somebody/something phrasal verb especially American English informal
1 .
a) to start having a sexual relationship with someone
b) to meet someone and become friendly with them SYN meet up with :
Did you ever hook up with Maisy while you were there?
c) to agree to work together with another organization for a particular purpose
2 . hook somebody up with something to help someone get something that they need or want SYN fix up with :
Do you think you can hook me up with some tickets for tonight?