What is HooDoo?

7 dictionary results for: hoodoo

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

hoo·doo /ˈhudu/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[hoo-doo] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation noun, plural -doos, verb, -dooed, -doo·ing.

–noun

1.

voodoo.

2.

bad luck.

3.	a person or thing that brings bad luck.

4.	Geology. a pillar of rock, usually of fantastic shape, left by erosion.

–verb (used with object)

5.	to bring or cause bad luck to.

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[Origin: 1870–75, Americanism; appar. var of voodoo]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

hoo·doo (hōō'dōō) Pronunciation Key n. pl. hoo·doos Magic healing and control, especially in African-based folk medicine in the United States and the Caribbean. Also called conjure. A practitioner of hoodoo. Bad luck. One that brings bad luck. Voodoo. Bad luck. One that brings bad luck. Geology A column of eccentrically shaped rock, produced by differential weathering. tr.v. hoo·dooed, hoo·doo·ing, hoo·doos To practice hoodoo on; affect with a charm or curse. To bring bad luck to. [Of West African origin, possibly from voodoo.] hoo'doo·ism n.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
hoodoo

1875, "one who practices voodoo," Amer.Eng., probably an alteration of voodoo. Meaning "something that causes or brings bad luck" is attested from 1882.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

hoodoo
noun
1.	(geology) a column of weathered and unusually shaped rock; "a tall sandstone hoodoo"
2.	a practitioner of voodoo
3.	a charm superstitiously believed to embody magical powers [syn: juju]
4.	something believed to bring bad luck
verb
1.	bring bad luck; be a source of misfortune

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Hoodoo

Hoo"doo\, n. [Perh. a var. of voodoo.] One who causes bad luck. [Colloq.]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Hoodoo

Hoo"doo\, v. t. To be a hoodoo to; to bring bad luck to by occult influence; to bewitch. [Colloq., U. S.]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Hoodoo

Hoo"doo\, n. A natural rock pile or pinnacle of fantastic shape. [Western U. S.]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.

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