spook

1 of 2

noun

ˈspük How to pronounce spook (audio)
Synonyms of spooknext
1
: ghost, specter
2
: an undercover agent : spy
spookish
ˈspü-kish How to pronounce spook (audio)
adjective

spook

2 of 2

verb

spooked; spooking; spooks

transitive verb

1
: haunt sense 3
2
: to make frightened or frantic : scare
especially : to startle into violent activity (such as stampeding)

intransitive verb

: to become spooked
cattle spooking at shadows

Synonyms

Noun

Verb

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of spook in a Sentence

Noun Russia recalled its spooks after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Halloween is the night when spooks and goblins are said to roam abroad. Verb The noise spooked the cat. The little girl was spooked by scary masks.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
George gets a tip from a fellow agency spook that there’s a rat in the house. — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 12 Mar. 2025 Cambridge math dons, government spooks, think-tankers, Iraqi archeologists: Of course they’re all caught up in a plot to save or destroy the world. — Graham Hillard, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 Feb. 2025
Verb
While federal officials continue to remind Americans that air travel is as safe as it’s ever been, a series of recent catastrophes and incidents has spooked the flying public. — Jay Blackman, NBC News, 20 Mar. 2025 The noise spooks the farm’s newest residents, sandhill cranes in the west pasture, who leap from their roosts and swoop low over the vast prairie. — Phillip Valys, Sun Sentinel, 15 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for spook

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Dutch; akin to Middle Low German spōk ghost

First Known Use

Noun

1801, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1883, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of spook was in 1801

Rhymes for spook

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Browse Nearby Words

spoofer
spook
spookery
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Spook.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spook. Accessed 30 Mar. 2025.

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Kids Definition

spook

2 of 2 verb
: to make or become frightened : scare

More from Merriam-Webster on spook

Nglish: Translation of spook for Spanish Speakers

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