holler

1 of 3

verb

hol·​ler ˈhä-lər How to pronounce holler (audio)
hollered; hollering ˈhäl-riŋ How to pronounce holler (audio)
ˈhä-lə-

intransitive verb

1
: to cry out (as to attract attention or in pain) : shout
hollering for help
2
: gripe, complain
will always holler about tax increases

transitive verb

: to call out (a word or phrase)
hollering her daughter's name

holler

2 of 3

noun

1
: shout, cry
give a holler if you need any help
2
3
: an African American work song freely improvised usually in terms of the particular occupation of the moment and often without words
a cornfield holler

holler

3 of 3

chiefly dialectal variant of hollow

Examples of holler in a Sentence

Verb He was hollering across the fields to his workers. They were screaming and hollering at each other all night. She hollered across the street, “Did you hear the news?”. Someone was hollering my name. People always holler about tax increases. Noun heard a holler from somewhere in the woods and ran toward it there didn't seem to be a thermostat setting that wouldn't bring a holler from somebody
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
Video from the first show, in Melbourne, started whipping around the Internet—twelve thousand rapt fans hollering along to every word. Amanda Petrusich, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024 With guns drawn, a team of SWAT team officers entered the room and hollered instructions. Gina Kaufman, Detroit Free Press, 1 Feb. 2024 An total audience of more than 90,000 will hoot and holler for Garth Brooks as the country music star plays, count ’em, six shows at Sleep Train Arena. Chris MacIas and Tim Swanson, Sacramento Bee, 31 Jan. 2024 So of course all 300 of these middle-aged women are hooting and hollering and carrying on. Christian D'andrea, The Enquirer, 17 Jan. 2024 Theo had to admit that, in the two years since Roger had come along, Jane barely hollered or whipped her anymore. Addie Citchens, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024 As the referees walked off the field, fans in Baltimore hollered at them, and outside Fells Point bars, cigarette smoke and curse words filled the air. Hayes Gardner, Baltimore Sun, 28 Jan. 2024 The longtime cohost playfully hit back at a group of guests in the crowd during Monday's Live With Kelly & Mark broadcast, after the attendees hooted and hollered during the pair's opening chat. Joey Nolfi, EW.com, 25 Sep. 2023 The entire chaotic episode, caught on video by a bystander and shared on Reddit, shows Hayne hollering at Russell for at least a minute before launching her food like a human catapult. Li Goldstein, Bon Appétit, 8 Dec. 2023
Noun
The crowd hollers, shaking the wooden pillars, threatening to bring down the entire coliseum. Toby Muse, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024 There was the buzz of girls gossiping, the hoots and hollers of prize-winning kids. Emily Ziff Griffin, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2024 For every 30-minute skin up the 7,000-foot-high glacier, I was rewarded with a cruise-y, five-minute descent in fresh powder and a chorus of my own hoots and hollers reverberating off the icy peaks. Jen Murphy, Robb Report, 3 Feb. 2024 These are born from struggle, and rock ‘n’ roll fuses them with a backbeat and a holler. Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2023 Mingo County, West Virginia — In West Virginia's hollers, deep in Appalachia, jobless coal miners are now finding a seam of hope. Mark Strassmann, CBS News, 16 Nov. 2023 From its 1974 debut album to 2015, when the band played a farewell show at the Forum, Rush was the standard-bearer for elaborate, multi-part songs full of falsetto hollers, time signature changes and drum solos. Rob Tannenbaum, Los Angeles Times, 13 Nov. 2023 As the care packages are handed out, the congregation hollers and applauds. Joel Khalili, WIRED, 30 Oct. 2023 But poverty didn't stop the Webb family from celebrating in the holler. Meghan Overdeep, Southern Living, 11 Oct. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'holler.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb and Noun

alteration of hollo

First Known Use

Verb

1592, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1825, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of holler was in 1592

Dictionary Entries Near holler

Cite this Entry

“Holler.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/holler. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

holler

verb
hol·​ler
ˈhäl-ər
hollered; hollering
-(ə-)riŋ
1
: to cry or call out : shout
2
holler noun

More from Merriam-Webster on holler

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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