Library / English Dictionary

WHOOP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A loud hooting cry of exultation or excitement

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("whoop" is a kind of...):

call; cry; outcry; shout; vociferation; yell (a loud utterance; often in protest or opposition)

Derivation:

whoop (shout, as if with joy or enthusiasm)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cough spasmodically

Example:

The patient with emphysema is hacking all day

Synonyms:

hack; whoop

Classified under:

Verbs of grooming, dressing and bodily care

Hypernyms (to "whoop" is one way to...):

cough (exhale abruptly, as when one has a chest cold or congestion)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s

Sense 2

Meaning:

Shout, as if with joy or enthusiasm

Example:

The children whooped when they were led to the picnic table

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "whoop" is one way to...):

call; cry; holler; hollo; scream; shout; shout out; squall; yell (utter a sudden loud cry)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

whoop (a loud hooting cry of exultation or excitement)

whooper (common Old World swan noted for its whooping call)

Credits

 Context examples: 

He might just as well have turned a somersault and uttered an Indian war whoop, for his face was so full of suppressed excitement and his voice so treacherously joyful that everyone jumped up, though he only said, in a queer, breathless voice, Here's another Christmas present for the March family.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Rasping up on either side, with oars trailing to save them from snapping, they poured in a living torrent with horrid yell and shrill whoop upon the defenceless merchantman.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

"If that pack ever starts to jump you, them three cartridges'd be wuth no more'n three whoops in hell. Them animals is damn hungry, an' once they start in, they'll sure get you, Bill."

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Close behind the pack rode a fourrier and a yeoman-pricker, whooping on the laggards and encouraging the leaders, in the shrill half-French jargon which was the language of venery and woodcraft.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The attention of the insurgents had been drawn away from murder to plunder, and all over the castle might be heard their cries and whoops of delight as they dragged forth the rich tapestries, the silver flagons, and the carved furniture.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

As he raised himself to look over the bracken at his enemies, the staring color caught the eye of the bailiff, who broke into a long screeching whoop and spurred forward sword in hand.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

The clang of blows, the cries of the stricken, the short, deep shout of the islanders, and the fierce whoops of the rovers, rose together in a deafening tumult, while the breath of the panting men went up in the wintry air like the smoke from a furnace.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)