- a large ring of plastic, wood or iron
- The barrel was bound with three iron hoops.
- (also hoop earring)an earring in the shape of a ring
- a pair of plain gold hoops
- the ring that the players throw the ball through in the game of basketball in order to score points
- Let's shoot some hoops.
- hoops[uncountable] (North American English, informal) the game of basketball
- He played junior college hoops in California.
- a large ring that was used as a children’s toy in the past, or for animals or riders to jump through at a circusTopics Games and toysc2
- (also hula hoop, US English Hula-Hoop™)a large plastic ring that you move in a circle around the middle part of your body by moving your hips
- a small arch made of metal or plastic, put into the ground
- croquet hoops (= in the game of croquet)
- Grow lettuces under plastic stretched over wire hoops.
Word Originlate Old English hōp, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch hoep.
Idioms
See hoop in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryjump through hoops
- to do something difficult or complicated in order to achieve something
- You have to jump through so many hoops to get a job like this.
Check pronunciation:
hoop