hood
hood — noun
1. a piece of fabric attached to the back of a jacket, coat, or sweatshirt that you
a piece of fabric attached to the back of a jacket, coat, or sweatshirt that you raise over your head for warmth or protection from rain or wind
Asher pulled up his hood when the rain began to fall.
pull up + hood
The winter coat has a hood that you can take off with a zipper.
Esme's hood was decorated with soft fur around the edges.
Noor always wears a hooded sweatshirt on cold winter mornings.
collocation: hooded sweatshirt
The soldier's uniform had a large hood that fit over his helmet.
- pull up your hood
- put your hood up/down
- hood of a jacket/coat
- hooded sweatshirt
- hood with fur
- cowl
usually refers to a monk's hood or a hood-like shape; more formal and less common in everyday use
- head covering
a more general term that includes hats, scarves, and other headwear
Usage Note
Usually refers to a hood that is part of a garment rather than a separate item. Common in compound forms such as hooded jacket, hoodie, and hooded sweatshirt.
2. a covering made of cloth or other material that is placed over a person's entire
a covering made of cloth or other material that is placed over a person's entire head and face to hide their identity or prevent them from seeing
The robbers wore black hoods during the afternoon robbery.
wear + hood (concealment sense)
A guard placed a hood over the prisoner's head before the long walk.
Diego could not see anything after they pulled the hood over his face.
pull a hood over someone's head/face
The security footage showed a figure in a dark hood at the door.
Kabir felt the rough cloth of the hood against his cheeks.
- wear a hood
- place/put a hood over
- pull a hood over
- black hood
- hooded figure
Usage Note
Distinguish from the CLOTHING sense: this sense refers to a separate item placed over the head, not part of a garment. Frequently appears in contexts of crime, punishment, or ritual.
3. a removable protective cover that fits over a machine, device, or piece of equip
a removable protective cover that fits over a machine, device, or piece of equipment to keep out dust and dirt or to shield the internal parts
Diego removed the hood from the printer to check for a paper jam.
remove + hood (equipment)
The microphone has a foam hood that cuts down on wind noise.
Before painting the ceiling, Lauren put a plastic hood over the smoke detector.
The computer's cooling hood keeps dust from settling on the processor.
cooling hood (protective function)
Xiu opened the hood of the sewing machine to oil the metal parts.
- remove/open/lift the hood
- protective hood
- hood of/over a machine
- plastic hood
- metal hood
Usage Note
Often used in technical or industrial contexts. Unlike the car hood sense (sense 4), this applies to any device or machine with a cover that can be opened or removed for access to internal components.
4. the flat metal panel covering a car's engine compartment, which you lift open to
the flat metal panel covering a car's engine compartment, which you lift open to reach or inspect the engine
Lauren lifted the car's hood to check the oil level herself.
lift + the hood (car)
White smoke was rising from under the hood of the old pickup truck.
Asher slammed the hood shut after fixing the dead battery.
slam + the hood shut
A stray cat was sleeping on the warm hood of the parked car.
Diego popped the hood and stared at the smoking engine inside.
- lift/open/pop the hood
- under the hood
- car/truck hood
- hood of a vehicle
- slam the hood
- bonnet
British English equivalent; same part of the car
Usage Note
Primarily American English. In British English the same part is called a bonnet. The hood is at the front of most cars, but on rear-engine vehicles it may be at the back.
Common Mistakes
5. a device fixed on the wall above a cooker or stove that draws in steam, smoke, a
a device fixed on the wall above a cooker or stove that draws in steam, smoke, and cooking odours and removes them from the kitchen air
The kitchen hood made a loud noise when Emma turned it on.
Noor switched on the hood while frying fish to get rid of the smell.
switch on + hood (cooker)
The hood above the stove needs its grease filter cleaned once a month.
Grease had built up inside the hood after years of daily home cooking.
grease build-up inside + hood
Lakan installed a new range hood that was much quieter than the old model.
- turn/switch on the hood
- kitchen hood
- range hood
- cooker hood
- hood filter
- grease filter
- range hood
the most common term in American English for this device
- extractor fan
focuses on the fan mechanism inside the hood
- cooker hood
common in British English
Usage Note
Also called a range hood, cooker hood, or extractor hood. The filter must be cleaned regularly to maintain performance. Often sold as part of a kitchen appliance package.
6. an area of a city, especially one where many residents have low incomes and ther
an area of a city, especially one where many residents have low incomes and there is often crime or social problems
Kabir grew up in a tough hood on the south side of Chicago.
tough hood (collocation)
The whole hood came together to celebrate the festival in the park.
People from every hood in the city showed up for the basketball game.
Élise opened a small library in her old hood to help local children.
in + (possessive) + hood
The rapper often mentions his childhood hood in his song lyrics.
- in the hood
- from the hood
- my/your hood
- tough hood
- the whole hood
- neighbourhood
neutral and formal; does not carry the same street-culture connotation
- neighbourhood (UK: neighbourhood)
the full form of hood with no slang register
- block
more specific — refers to a city block or immediate area rather than a whole district
Usage Note
Shortened form of neighbourhood. This sense is informal, primarily American, and often carries connotations of hardship, community pride, or street culture. Common in hip-hop lyrics and urban conversation.
Common Mistakes
7. A decorative cloth in specific colours worn over the shoulders as part of a grad
A decorative cloth in specific colours worn over the shoulders as part of a graduation gown, showing which university awarded the degree and at what level.
At graduation, each student wore a hood whose colours matched their faculty and degree level.
wearer's university shown by hood colours
Daniel's doctoral hood was wider and had more colours than his bachelor's hood.
The library displayed old hoods from the 1800s, each with faded red-and-gold silk.
Lucía borrowed a hood from her professor because her own was lost during the move.
Before the procession, the dean checked that every graduate's hood hung correctly over the gown.
hood + gown: academic dress
- wear a hood
- doctoral hood
- hood colours
- hood over the gown
- university hood
- academic stole
A stole is narrower and hangs straight down, whereas a hood has a wider draped shape
Usage Note
The colours and trim of an academic hood follow specific rules at each university, so a hood can identify the wearer's institution without needing a name tag.
Common Mistakes
8. A hinged or collapsible roof panel on a convertible car, pram, or similar vehicl
A hinged or collapsible roof panel on a convertible car, pram, or similar vehicle that can be opened to let in air or closed for protection from the weather.
Omar pulled the hood of his convertible up when the sky suddenly turned grey.
hood + convertible: folding roof
The baby's pram has a hood that folds down to keep the sun off her face.
Jiwoo struggled to fasten the car's hood against the strong wind on the coastal road.
Anong checked the hood mechanism before buying the second-hand convertible.
A vintage car with a canvas hood drew a crowd at the classic car show.
canvas hood: material of folding cover
- pull the hood up
- fold the hood down
- canvas hood
- fabric hood
- convertible hood
- pram hood
- hood mechanism
Usage Note
This sense is most common for convertible cars and baby prams (also called buggies or pushchairs). In American English, the folding roof of a convertible is often called the 'top' rather than the hood.
Common Mistakes
9. A person who takes part in organised violent or illegal activities as a member o
A person who takes part in organised violent or illegal activities as a member of a criminal gang.
In the old film, two hoods demanded protection money from the shop owner.
informal term for hoodlum / gang member
The police arrested a known hood who had been seen near the warehouse the night of the robbery.
Élise's grandfather used to tell stories about the hoods who ran the docks in the 1930s.
Tamar refused to sell her land despite threats from a local hood working for the developer.
Christopher wrote a report on how organised crime hoods controlled the night markets in the 1990s.
- a known hood
- local hood
- gang hood
- hoods ran the docks
- organised crime hood
Usage Note
Shortened from 'hoodlum' in the early 20th century. This sense is now somewhat dated and is most often encountered in historical contexts or classic crime films. Modern formal writing prefers 'gang member' or 'criminal'. Not to be confused with the piece of clothing.
Common Mistakes
under the hood
idiomRelating to the hidden or technical details of how something functions, not just its visible features.
Maya checked under the hood of the software to find the bug.
Did you look under the hood of that new car's engine?
hood — suffix
1. Added to a noun or adjective to form a new noun that means the state, condition,
Added to a noun or adjective to form a new noun that means the state, condition, or period of being that person or thing — for instance, 'childhood' refers to the time when a person is a child, and 'falsehood' refers to the quality of being false.
Minh's childhood in the fishing village was simple but full of joy.
noun + hood → period: childhood
The brotherhood among the firefighters in Kaohsiung helped them face every emergency together.
After the typhoon, Diya's neighbourhood worked together to clean up the streets.
noun + hood → place/community: neighbourhood
Haruto looked forward to adulthood because he wanted to travel the world alone.
Shirin spoke about motherhood with the same warmth she showed while tending her garden.
noun + hood → state: motherhood
- childhood memory
- brotherhood bond
- neighbourhood watch
- motherhood experience
- adulthood responsibility
- manhood ceremony
Grammar Patterns
[noun] + hood → abstract noun
Usage Note
The suffix -hood attaches mainly to nouns referring to people (mother, child, brother, neighbour, man) and occasionally to adjectives (false, likely, hard). The resulting nouns are typically uncountable and refer to abstract concepts rather than concrete objects.
Common Mistakes
Word family
- hoodedadjectiveB2
- hoodienounB1
- hoodlumnounC1
- neighbourhoodnounB1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
bonnet（英式）與 hood（美式）均指汽車引擎蓋，僅地區用法不同。cowl 指僧侶所戴的連帽衣領或類似兜帽形狀的遮蓋物，語體較正式且少用於日常。gangster 與 hood（hoodlum 的縮寫）都指有組織犯罪的幫派分子，但 gangster 語氣較中性，而 hood 更口語、略為過時。neighbourhood 是 hood「街區/社區」義的完整形式，不帶街頭文化色彩且可用於任何類型的地區；而 hood 限於都市貧困或治安較差的區域，語體為非正式。
Common collocations
Nouns
- jacket/coat/sweatshirt hood
- car/truck/convertible hood
- range/cooker/kitchen hood
Adverbs
Phrases
- lift/open/pop the hood
- pull/put your hood up
- under the hood
- hood up/down
Prepositions
- hood of [something]
- hood over [face/head/engine]
- hood against [rain/wind]
Etymology
The noun 'hood' (a covering for the head) comes from Old English 'hōd', which traces back to Proto-Germanic *hōdaz. It is related to Old High German 'huot' (hat, hood) and Dutch 'hoed' (hat). The suffix '-hood' (as in childhood, brotherhood) has a different origin — it comes from Old English '-hād' (state, condition, rank), from Proto-Germanic *haiduz (state, quality). Although they now share the same spelling, the clothing word and the suffix are historically separate words that merged by chance.