Categories: American vs British English Homophones and Homonyms Learning English Vocabulary

The Homonym “Hood” – Learning English Homonyms

Then Homonym "Hood"

The homonym ‘Hood’ is just one of the many homonyms in the English language. Interestingly, this homonym seems to be really popular, especially when you talk about cars and fashion. But despite the popularity of the word ‘hood,’ some of us are still confused with the word.

For today’s article, we are going to focus more on learning the meaning of the homonym ‘hood.’ So, put your eyeglasses on because today, we are going to delve deeper and unlock the many meanings of the word ‘hood.’ Let’s get started!

The Definition of Hood

The homonym ‘Hood’ has a couple of definitions. Check out these explanations by Cambridge Dictionary:

Firstly, as for clothing, the word ‘hood’ means part of a piece of clothing that can be pulled up to cover the top and back of the head.
Secondly, as for a car, it means the metal cover over the part of a car where the engine is.

Hood in Clothing

As mentioned above, the homonym ‘hood’ is a part of a piece of clothing that is designed to cover the top and back of the head. A lot of clothing garments actually have hoods. For example, a raincoat, some sweaters, and jackets. In a sentence, we can use the word ‘hood’ like this:

The jacket has a detachable hood.
Little Red Riding Hood is one of the famous cartoon characters for children.

Hood in Cars

While some of us are not very familiar with the English terms for the parts of the car, the homonym ‘hood’ is simply the metal cover that protects the car engine. In a sentence, we say:

John opens the hood of the car to repair the engine.
The hood of his car was so dusty after the long road trip in the south.

"Hood" in the Urban Dictionary

Did you know that the homonym ‘hood’ also has another meaning in the Urban Dictionary? ‘Hood’ is used to describe someone who is from an inner city and expresses the essence of urban culture. Moreover, it is also used to describe people from the hood who were raised with the hip-hop era.

For instance, Cardi B, one of the world’s famous rap artists from the Bronx, New York, describes herself as ‘someone from the hood.’ While the words ‘ghetto’ and ‘hood’ are synonymous, these two terms actually have their share of difference. Describing a person as ‘hood’ can be a positive compliment, but describing someone as ghetto is usually derogatory.

Conclusion

To conclude, the word ‘Hood’ is a homonym that has several meanings. Kindly remember the following definition of the word so that you will not be confused next time to hear someone using it.

As for clothing, the word ‘hood’ means part of a piece of clothing that can be pulled up to cover the top and back of the head.
As for a car, it means the metal cover over the part of a car where the engine is.
‘Hood’ is used to describe someone who is from an inner-city and expresses the essence of urban culture. It is also used to describe people from the hood who were raised with the hip-hop era.
Thank you so much for reading, and we hope that our definitions and examples have put your confused mind at ease.

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