hoover

Wikipedia

See also Hoover

English

Etymology

The common noun and verb are taken from the brand name Hoover of one of the first vacuum cleaners.

Noun

hoover (plural hoovers)

1. A generic term for a vacuum cleaner, irrespective of brand.

Translations

vacuum cleaner — see vacuum cleaner

Verb

hoover (third-person singular simple present hoovers, present participle hoovering, simple past and past participle hoovered)

1. (transitive, UK) To clean (a room, etc) with a vacuum cleaner, irrespective of brand.

   I need to hoover this room.

   • 2008, Stella Rimington, Secret Asset, page 210:

     In the freshly hoovered living room of her house in Wokingham, Thelma Dawnton was distinctly miffed.

2. (intransitive, UK) To use a vacuum cleaner, irrespective of brand.

   My husband is upstairs, hoovering.

3. (transitive) To suck in or inhale, as if by a vacuum cleaner.
   • 1998 Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods, Anchor Books, p. 8

     ...organisms called hantaviruses, which swarm in the micro-haze above the feces of mice and rats and are hoovered into the human respiratory system by anyone unlucky enough to stick a breathing orifice near them...

Derived terms

• hoover up

Translations

vacuum — see vacuum

Usage notes

• Hoover is a registered trademark of The Hoover Company. Its use in the general sense is an example of trademark erosion.

References

• http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=hoover Chiefly British