scoot  (skōōt)  v. scoot·ed, scoot·ing, scoots v. intr. To go suddenly and speedily; hurry. v. tr. Upper Southern U.S. To squirt with water: "I know I wouldn't scoot down no hog with no hose" (Flannery O'Connor). Phrasal Verb(s): scoot over To move or slide to the side: Scoot that chair over. [Scots, to eject, squirt, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skjōta, to shoot.] scoot n. Scoot comes from a Scandinavian verb related to the verb shoot and, borrowed into Scots dialect, originally meant "to squirt with water." Two derived senses, both intransitive verbs, have become even more common: "to slide suddenly across a surface" and "to move quickly": The mouse scooted across the floor. In the American Midlands, there is a phrasal verb scoot over, meaning, in its transitive sense, "to push (someone or something) to the side to make room." |
scoot over
Move to the side, especially to make room. For example, If you scoot over a little I'll have room to sit down. [Colloquial; first half of 1900s]