toot
- 01 B1 Intermediate
n.a short, sharp sound made by a horn, especially on a car or a boat.
n.a brief, high-pitched sound produced by a horn, whistle, or similar wind instrument.
Simple“The driver gave a quick toot on his horn to warn the cyclist.”
In context“A distant toot from the tugboat echoed across the harbour, signalling its departure in the heavy morning fog.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
v.to make a short sound with a horn or whistle.
v.to sound a horn or whistle in short blasts; can be used transitively or intransitively.
Simple“She tooted the horn as she drove past her friend's house.”
In context“The steam train tooted loudly as it approached the crossing, alerting pedestrians to stay clear of the tracks.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
n.a slang word for a toilet.
n.a slang term for a toilet or restroom, primarily used in Australian English.
Simple“I'll be back in a minute; I just need to go to the toot.”
In context“He asked the bartender where the toot was located before ordering another round for the table.”
- 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a message posted on the social media site Mastodon.
n.the specific term for a status update or post on the Mastodon social networking platform.
Simple“He shared a funny toot about his cat that went viral on Mastodon.”
In context“The developer posted a long toot explaining the new privacy features implemented in the latest server update.”
- 05 C2 Proficiency
n.a slang word for cocaine or a small amount of it that someone breathes in.
n.a slang term for cocaine or a specific dose intended for insufflation.
Simple“The movie showed the characters buying some toot at a party.”
In context“The undercover investigation revealed a significant trade in toot and other illicit substances within the city's nightlife district.”
- 06 C1 Advanced
n.things that are poor quality or useless; rubbish.
n.items of little value or poor quality; often used to describe cheap trinkets or nonsense.
Simple“The shop was full of old toot that nobody wanted to buy.”
In context“He cleared out the attic, throwing away boxes of old toot that had been collecting dust for decades.”
Probably onomatopoeic in origin. Compare Dutch toeteren (“to blow a horn”), German tuten, Swedish tuta, Danish tude. Noun etymology 1 sense 7 ("Mastodon post") and verb etymology 1 sense 10 ("to post on Mastodon") are influenced by tweet (“Twitter post”).
Perhaps a contraction of toilet.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.