hoop
/huːp/ (bre, ipa) · /huːp/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈhüp also ˈhu̇p/ (ame, mw)
hoop — noun
- hoopsingular
- hoopsplural
1. a stiff circle, normally of plastic, metal or wood, used to hold things tight to
a stiff circle, normally of plastic, metal or wood, used to hold things tight together, to hang things from, or as a simple toy.
Asher rolled an old wooden hoop along the garden path.
rolled a hoop — classic toy use
The wine barrel was held together by four rusty iron hoops.
passive: held together by hoops — fastening use
Camille hung a row of metal hoops above the kitchen sink for her pans.
The circus dog leapt cleanly through a flaming hoop held by the trainer.
Beatrix bent the plastic strip into a wide hoop for her daughter's craft project.
用法筆記
Subject in passive uses is typically a container (barrel, basket, dress) that the hoops hold in shape.
2. in basketball, the round metal circle (with a soft net underneath) fixed onto th
in basketball, the round metal circle (with a soft net underneath) fixed onto the backboard; sinking the ball into it scores points.
Tuan jumped high and dunked the ball through the hoop.
dunk through the hoop
Femi practised shooting at the playground hoop every evening after school.
shoot at the hoop
Feng's three-pointer circled the rim of the hoop twice before dropping in.
Ignacio bolted a new hoop and backboard to the wall above the garage door.
From the free-throw line, Christopher made twenty straight shots into the hoop.
用法筆記
Distinguish from sense 1 (RING): always paired with basketball context — shooting, dunking, free throws, or the rim/net structure.
3. the sport of basketball itself, often used as a casual nickname especially in Am
the sport of basketball itself, often used as a casual nickname especially in American English.
Bilal grew up playing hoop on the cracked court behind his apartment block.
play hoop — informal name for the game
After dinner, Tara and her brothers usually shoot some hoop in the driveway.
shoot some hoop — common informal phrase
Daichi and his cousins talked about hoop the whole way home from the gym.
Justin loves hoop more than baseball or football, and he never misses a college game on TV.
On weekends the brothers played pickup hoop with neighbours at the park.
- basketball
the standard, neutral name for the same sport
- b-ball
very casual American slang for the sport, common in spoken English
用法筆記
Uncountable in this sense ("play hoop", not "a hoop" or "hoops"). Mainly American and informal; written almost never appears in formal sports reporting, which prefers "basketball".
常見錯誤
4. an earring shaped like a thin metal ring that passes through the earlobe and han
an earring shaped like a thin metal ring that passes through the earlobe and hangs in a circle.
Daichi gave his sister a pair of small gold hoops for her birthday.
pair of hoops — typically plural
Tomás noticed that one of his mother's silver hoops was missing.
Beatrix wore wide silver hoops with her plain black dress to the dinner.
The shop displayed dozens of hoops in every size, from tiny studs to wrist-wide rings.
Niran prefers light bamboo hoops to the heavy metal ones her cousin wears.
- hoop earring
the full form; "hoop" alone is the shortened everyday word
- ring earring
rare; learners may try this from a literal translation but native speakers say "hoops"
- stud
small earring sitting flat against the earlobe, the opposite shape to a hanging hoop
用法筆記
Almost always plural ("a pair of hoops") because earrings are worn as a matching pair. Distinguish from sense 1 (RING): only used of jewellery worn in the ear.
hoop — verb
- hooppresent simple I / you / we / they
- hoops3rd person singular
- hooping-ing form
- hoopedpast simple
1. to wrap and secure something using a rigid ring, especially around a barrel or b
to wrap and secure something using a rigid ring, especially around a barrel or basket so that the side panels stay tight together.
The cooper carefully hooped the new oak barrel with four iron bands.
hoop + [container] — typical object is a barrel or cask
Workers at the vineyard hooped the wine casks before the harvest began.
Ignacio learned how to hoop wooden buckets from his grandfather in the village.
The old crates had been hooped with thin copper wire to stop them from splitting.
Femi hooped the laundry basket with a strip of bent willow to keep its sides tight.
- unbind
release something held tightly together
文法句型
hoop + [object]
用法筆記
Subject is typically a craftsperson (cooper, barrel-maker); object is a container made of vertical wooden staves. Very rare outside trade or historical writing — most learners will only meet this verb in passive descriptions.