hawk — English Dictionary

hawk
Pronunciations (7)
  • /ˈhɔːk/
    Pronunciation notes
    • Northern-England
    • Received-Pronunciation
    • Wales
  • /ˈhoːk/
    Pronunciation notes
    • British
    • Southern
    • Standard
  • /ˈhɔk/
    Pronunciation notes
    • Scotland
  • /ˈhɔk/
  • /ˈhɑk/
    Pronunciation notes
    • cot-caught-merger
  • /ˈhɒk/
    Pronunciation notes
    • Canada
  • /ˈhoːk/
    Pronunciation notes
    • Australia
    • New-Zealand

Noun

  1. A diurnal predatory bird of the family Accipitridae, smaller than an eagle.

    Examples

    It is illegal to hunt hawks or other raptors in many parts of the world.

    He made his hawke to fly, With hogeous showte and cry.

  2. Any diurnal predatory terrestrial bird of similar size and appearance to the accipitrid hawks, such as a falcon.

  3. Any of various species of dragonfly of the genera Apocordulia and Austrocordulia, endemic to Australia.

  4. An advocate of aggressive political positions and actions.

    Antonyms
    Examples
    More examples (2)

    A hawk by nature, Ellenborough strongly favoured presenting St Petersburg with an ultimatum warning that any further incursions into Persia would be regarded as a hostile act.

    “Everybody knows who were the hawks and who were the doves,” Bundy told the ExComm on the morning of October 28, after Khrushchev announced that he was withdrawing his missiles. “Today was the day of the doves.”

    President Donald Trump has spent years playing the role of a China hawk.

  5. An uncooperative or purely selfish participant in an exchange or game, especially when untrusting, acquisitive or treacherous. Refers specifically to the prisoner's dilemma, a.k.a. the Hawk-Dove game.

    Antonyms
  6. Cold, sharp or biting wind.

    Usage
    • US usage
    • often
    • with-definite-article
    Examples
    More examples (2)

    […] take-out sandwich from Arnie's on Jackson, then a brisk walk to Michigan Avenue in the face of the "Hawk," blowing newspapers and skirts and the gulls wheeling over the Michigan Avenue Bridge in front of […]

    […] a hand-fired coal furnace that required little attention and kept the cottage coy in spite of "the hawk" blowing icy blasts outside. So in spite of Thumper's continuing discomfort we enjoyed a fairly merry Christmas. But then the base daily bulletin was published with the roster of OGs (officers of the guard) for the[…]

    I wanna learn by Ruby's birthday party." Pride turned up his collar against the hawk blowing from the river."

    More examples (1)

    […] in Chicago […] I can't help but love winter and fall. Mostly fall, because fuck snow, and that hawk blowing off the lake is enough to make your teeth drop right out of your skull , but winter can be kind of okay if it doesn't snow a whole lot and no one asks me to go sledding or do some other Hallmark-movie nonsense.

Verb

  1. To hunt with a hawk.

    Usage
    • Transitive
    Examples

    To hawke, or els to hunt From the auter to the funt

    He rode astride while hawking; she falconed in the ladylike position of sidesaddle.

  2. To make an attack while on the wing; to soar and strike like a hawk.

    Usage
    • Intransitive
    Examples

    to hawk at flies

    A falcon, towering in her pride of place, / Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed.

    More examples (2)

    But whether upward to the moon they go, Or dream the winter out in caves below, Or hawk at flies elsewhere

    Dollarbirds hawk from high bare branches.

Noun

  1. A plasterer's tool, made of a flat surface with a handle below, used to hold an amount of plaster prior to application to the wall or ceiling being worked on: a mortarboard.

    Synonyms

Verb

  1. To sell; to offer for sale by outcry in the street; to carry (merchandise) about from place to place for sale; to peddle.

    Usage
    • Transitive
    Synonyms
    Related words
    Examples

    The vendors were hawking their wares from little tables lining either side of the market square.

    His works were hawked in every street.

Noun

  1. A noisy effort to force up phlegm from the throat.

    Synonyms
    Examples

    The man gave a rattling hawk in his throat and spat directly between Bond and Leiter.

Verb

  1. To expectorate, to cough up (something, such as mucus) from one's throat; to produce (something) by coughing or clearing one's throat.

    Usage
    • Intransitive
    • Transitive
    Examples

    to hawk a loogie

    [I]s a trobled with the cough a the Lunges ſtill? does he hawke anights ſtill?

    More examples (2)

    He hawked up, with incredible straining, the interjection ah!

    He had a new tough manner of pulling down breath and hawking into the street.

  2. To try to cough up something from one's throat; to clear the throat loudly; to cough heavily, especially causing uvular frication.

    Usage
    • Intransitive
    • Transitive
    Examples

    Grandpa sat on the front porch, hawking and wheezing, as he packed his pipe with cheap tobacco.

Noun

  1. diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail

  2. an advocate of an aggressive policy on foreign relations

    Synonyms
    Antonyms
    Broader terms
  3. a square board with a handle underneath; used by masons to hold or carry mortar

    Synonyms
    Broader terms

Verb

  1. sell or offer for sale from place to place

    Broader terms
  2. hunt with hawks

    Examples

    the tribes like to hawk in the desert

  3. clear mucus or food from one's throat

    Broader terms
    Examples

    he cleared his throat before he started to speak

Word forms
hawkshawkshawkinghawkedhawked

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