hoodlum

/ˈhuːdləm/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈhʊdləm/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈhüd-ləm ˈhu̇d-/ (ame, mw)

hoodlum — noun

  • hoodlumsingular
  • hoodlumsplural

1. someone who uses violence and hurts others, usually working together with other

1.名詞C1
釋義

someone who uses violence and hurts others, usually working together with other criminals as part of an organized gang.

例句

Police arrested four hoodlums who had been robbing tourists near the harbour.

plural countable: a group of hoodlums

Tariq's uncle owns a small shop, and local hoodlums force him to pay them every month.

collocation: local hoodlums

同義詞
  • thug

    very close synonym; equally informal and emphasizes physical violence

  • gangster

    stronger sense of belonging to an organized crime group

  • mobster

    American; specifically a member of an organized crime syndicate like the Mafia

文法句型

a hoodlum

a gang of hoodlums

用法筆記

Most often plural and tied to organized crime or gangs. Distinguish from sense 2, which describes one rowdy young person rather than a member of a criminal group.

常見錯誤

❌The hoodlum reads books in the library.
✅The hoodlum threatened the shop owner with a knife.
💡a hoodlum is defined by violence and crime, not by neutral behaviour.

2. a young person, usually a teenage boy, who behaves loudly and aggressively in pu

2.名詞C1
釋義

a young person, usually a teenage boy, who behaves loudly and aggressively in public, often frightening or annoying other people.

例句

A group of teenage hoodlums spent the evening shouting and kicking bottles down the street.

collocation: teenage hoodlums

Liam complained that young hoodlums had again sprayed paint on the school wall.

collocation: young hoodlums

同義詞
  • ruffian

    older, slightly literary word for the same idea

  • hooligan

    British English; especially of young people causing trouble in public or at football matches

  • delinquent

    more formal; emphasizes that the young person breaks rules or laws

文法句型

a young hoodlum

a bunch of hoodlums

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this sense describes one noisy, badly-behaved young person, not a member of an organized criminal gang. Often refers to a single teenager rather than an adult.

常見錯誤

❌My grandmother is a hoodlum at the church choir.
✅My grandmother sings in the church choir.
💡this sense applies only to young people behaving badly in public, never to older adults.