Hoe

Pronunciation

• UK enPR: hō, IPA: /həʊ/
• US enPR: hō, IPA: /hoÊŠ/
• Rhymes: -əʊ
• Homophones: ho

From Middle English howe, from Anglo-Norman houe, from Frankish *hauwa (cf. Middle Dutch houwe), from *hauwan ("to hew"). More at hew.

Full definition of hoe

Noun

1. An agricultural tool consisting of a long handle with a flat blade fixed perpendicular to it at the end, used for digging rows.
• 2009, TRU TV, 28 MarchIt was obvious that it consisted of several blows to the head from the hoe.
2. The horned or piked dogfish.

Related terms

• backhoe

Verb

1. (ambitransitive) To cut, dig, scrape, turn, arrange, or clean, with this tool.to hoe the earth in a gardenEvery year, I hoe my garden for aeration.I always take a shower after I hoe in my garden.
2. (transitive) To clear from weeds, or to loosen or arrange the earth about, with a hoe.to hoe corn

An eye dialect corruption of whore, from non-rhotic pronunciations considered typical of Ebonics.

Alternative forms

• ho

Noun

1. (US, slang) Alternative spelling of ho A prostitute.
• 2002, Eithne Quinn, Nuthin’ But a “G” Thang: The Culture and Commerce of Gangsta Rap… this chapter … will … explore why pimp (and hoe) characters, with their dramatic staging of gendered and occupational relations … have taken such hold of the black youth imagination
• 2003, Dan Harrington, The Good EyeAt school they had been among the only couples that had not done “it” at the Pimp & Hoe parties that popped up occasionally at the dorm

Synonyms

Verb

1. (US, slang) Alternative spelling of ho To act as a prostitute.
• 2003, Da’rel the Relentless One, M. T. PimpPimpin’ came so naturally to MT when he and his sisters played pimp and hoe games that one of his sisters wanted to hoe for him when they grew up.

From Old English ho.

Noun

1. A piece of land that juts out towards the sea; a promontory.

Usage notes

Now used only in placenames e.g. "Plymouth Hoe".