hoy

1
[ hoi ]

nounNautical.
  1. a heavy barge used in harbors.

  2. a vessel of the 17th and 18th centuries, usually slooprigged, used for fishing and coastal trading.

Origin of hoy

1
First recorded in 1485–95, hoy is from the Middle Dutch word hoey

Other definitions for hoy (2 of 2)

hoy2
[ hoi ]

interjection
  1. (used as an exclamation to attract attention.)

noun
  1. a shout or hail.

Origin of hoy

2
1350–1400; Middle English; variant of hey

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use hoy in a sentence

  • Then the victuallers had to be loaded in the Thames and at Sandwich, and brought round to the ports where were the hoys or ships.

    Mary Tudor, Queen of France | Mary Croom Brown
  • To Poole the sailing-hoys run twice a-week, calling off Cowes and Yarmouth.

  • Crammers' rejections, ill-regulated hobble-de-hoys, wasn't it?

    Stalky & Co. | Rudyard Kipling
  • The stage-coaches from different parts of London were innumerable, as were also the stage-wagons and the hoys.

    London | Walter Besant
  • The three hoys were replaced by four boats—boats of force as they were called, carrying fifty men each.

British Dictionary definitions for hoy (1 of 2)

hoy1

/ (hɔɪ) /


nounnautical
  1. a freight barge

  2. a coastal fishing and trading vessel, usually sloop-rigged, used during the 17th and 18th centuries

Origin of hoy

1
C15: from Middle Dutch hoei

British Dictionary definitions for hoy (2 of 2)

hoy2

/ (hɔɪ) /


interjection
  1. a cry used to attract attention or drive animals

Origin of hoy

2
C14: variant of hey

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012