ENGLISH
REFERENCE

yahoo

n. countable
C2 Proficiency US //ˈjɑˌhu// UK //jˈæhuː// ya·hoo Informal Vulgar

n. a person who is very rude, loud, or uneducated. You use this to describe someone who acts in a rough and annoying way.

n. a crude, coarse, or unintelligent person. Derived from the brutish race of creatures in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels; carries a derogatory and informal register.


SIMPLE

Some yahoo was shouting in the street all night.

CONTEXTUAL

The quiet gallery was suddenly filled with a group of yahoos who had no respect for the art.

COMPLEX

The editorial dismissed the protesters as a pack of unthinking yahoos, ignoring the legitimate economic grievances that had driven them to the capital.

Synonyms
Etymology 1

Coined by Jonathan Swift in Gulliver's Travels. According to the Century Dictionary, "[a] made name, prob[ably] meant to suggest disgust".

Etymology 2

From the company name Yahoo!; see more on origin there.

Usage

Often used as a mild insult to describe someone lacking social grace or intellectual depth.

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