hawk Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun diurnal bird of prey typically having short rounded wings and a long tail
  2. noun an advocate of an aggressive policy on foreign relations
    war hawk.
  3. noun a square board with a handle underneath; used by masons to hold or carry mortar
    mortarboard.
  4. verb sell or offer for sale from place to place
    monger; vend; pitch; peddle; huckster.
  5. verb hunt with hawks
    • the tribes like to hawk in the desert
  6. verb clear mucus or food from one's throat
    clear the throat.
    • he cleared his throat before he started to speak

WordNet

Hawk noun
Etymology
OE. hauk (prob. fr. Icel.), havek, AS. hafoc, heafoc; akin to D. havik, OHG. habuh, G. habicht, Icel. haukr, Sw. hök, Dan. hög, prob. from the root of E. heave.
Definitions
  1. (Zoöl.) One of numerous species and genera of rapacious birds of the family Falconidæ. They differ from the true falcons in lacking the prominent tooth and notch of the bill, and in having shorter and less pointed wings. Many are of large size and grade into the eagles. Some, as the goshawk, were formerly trained like falcons. In a more general sense the word is not infrequently applied, also, to true falcons, as the sparrow hawk, pigeon hawk, duck hawk, and prairie hawk. ✍ Among the common American species are the red-tailed hawk (Buteo borealis); the red-shouldered (B. lineatus); the broad-winged (B. Pennsylvanicus); the rough-legged (Archibuteo lagopus); the sharp-shinned Accipiter fuscus). See Fishhawk, Goshawk, Marsh hawk, under Marsh, Night hawk, under Night.
Hawk intransitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Hawked ; present participle & verbal noun Hawking
Definitions
  1. To catch, or attempt to catch, birds by means of hawks trained for the purpose, and let loose on the prey; to practice falconry.
    A falconer Henry is, when Emma hawks. Prior.
  2. To make an attack while on the wing; to soar and strike like a hawk; -- generally with at; as, to hawk at flies. Dryden.
    A falcon, towering in her pride of place, Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed. Shak.
Hawk intransitive verb
Etymology
W. hochi.
Definitions
  1. To clear the throat with an audible sound by forcing an expiratory current of air through the narrow passage between the depressed soft palate and the root of the tongue, thus aiding in the removal of foreign substances.
Hawk transitive verb
Definitions
  1. To raise by hawking, as phlegm.
Hawk noun
Etymology
W. hoch.
Definitions
  1. An effort to force up phlegm from the throat, accompanied with noise.
Hawk transitive verb
Etymology
Akin to D. hauker a hawker, G. höken, höcken, to higgle, to retail, höke, höker, a higgler, huckster. See Huckster.
Definitions
  1. To offer for sale by outcry in the street; to carry (merchandise) about from place to place for sale; to peddle; as, to hawk goods or pamphlets.
    His works were hawked in every street. Swift.
Hawk noun
Definitions
  1. (Masonry) A small board, with a handle on the under side, to hold mortar.

Webster 1913