hawk Hear it!

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hawk1 definition

hawk (hôk)

noun

    1. any of various accipitrine birds having short, rounded wings and a long tail and legs, as Cooper's hawk, goshawk, and the harriers
    2. loosely any of various other birds of prey, as falcons and ospreys
  2. an advocate of all-out war or of measures in international affairs designed to provoke or escalate open hostilities
  3. a person regarded as having the preying or grasping nature of a hawk; cheater; swindler

Etymology: ME hauk < OE hafoc, akin to Ger habicht, Pol kobuz, falcon

intransitive verb

  1. to hunt birds or other small game with the help of falcons or other hawks
  2. to attack by or as by swooping and striking

transitive verb

to attack or prey on as a hawk does

Related Forms:

hawk2 definition

hawk (hôk)

transitive verb

  1. to advertise or peddle (goods) in the streets by shouting
  2. to advertise or sell: a mildly contemptuous term

Etymology: < hawker

hawk3 definition

hawk (hôk)

intransitive verb

to clear the throat audibly

Etymology: echoic

transitive verb

to bring up (phlegm) by coughing

noun

an audible clearing of the throat
hawk4 definition

hawk (hôk)

noun

a flat, square piece of wood or metal with a handle underneath, for carrying mortar or plaster

Etymology: prob. fig. use of hawk

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms hawk idiom

hawk Synonyms

hawk

n.

  1. A member of the Accipitridae

    bird of prey, one of the Falconiformes, falcon; see bird 1.

    Types of hawks include: red-tailed, zone-tailed, white tailed, short-tailed, broad-winged, short-winged, common black, American sparrow hawk, English sparrow hawk, bush, roadside, duck hawk, hen, fish hawk, prairie, marsh, gray, blue, Cooper's, Harlan's, Swainson's, Harris', noble, ignoble, ferruginous, sharp-shinned, broad-winged, rough-legged, goshawk, windhover, night-hawk, English hobby, hobby, merlin, jack merlin, peregrine, tiercel, osprey, harrier, kite, kestrel, caracara, lugar, lanner, saker, eyas, haggard, gyrefalcon.

  2. A warlike person

    militarist, chauvinist, jingoist, belligerent, warmonger, chauvin, jingo, hothead; see also conservative, radical.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

hawk Usage Examples

Object

  • insect: To the north of Le Rozier, Alpine Swifts and Crag Martins joined Common Swifts hawking insects around the mountain sides and river valley.

Converse of object

  • fly: The flying hawk goes up to the sky, The fish jump to the depths.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • around: These were hawked around for sale to anyone with some money.

Adjective modifier

  • wild: The wild hawk is accustomed to prey on tame birds; the domestic hawk on wild.

Modifies a noun

  • moth: The first hawk moth also appeared, a Poplar on the 6th.

Noun used with modifier

  • sparrow: More recently, we have had a sparrow hawk visit.

Preposition: in

  • administration: The hawks in the administration show no enthusiasm at all for reining in their rogue ally.

Preposition: for

  • insect: They can be spotted either hawking for insects or taking them from the ground.
hawk usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

hawk quotes

As I was walking all alane, I heard twa corbies making a mane; The tane unto the tother say, 'Where sall we gang and dine to-day?' 'In behint yon auld fail dye, I wot there lies a new-slain knight; And naebody kens that he lies there, But his hawk, his hound, and his lady fair. 'His hound is to the hunting gane, His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl hame, His lady's ta'en another mate, So we may mak our dinner sweet.'

-Ballads

And Coleridge, too, has lately taken wing, But, like a hawk encumbered with his hood, Explaining metaphysics to the nationö I wished he would explain his explanation.

-Rochdale

   The wild God of the world is sometimes merciful to those That ask mercy, not often to the arrogant. You do not know him, you communal people, or you have forgotten him; Intemperate and savage, the hawk remembers him; Beautiful and wild, the hawks, and men that are dying, remember him.

-Jeffers, (John) Robinson

hawk quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"hawk." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 5 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/hawk>

APA Style

hawk. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 5th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/hawk

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