Hooking: meaning, definitions and examples

Used in fishing contexts or in informal contexts to describe attracting someone's interest.

• He is excellent at hooking the big fish
• She has a magnetic personality that keeps hooking people to her conversations

Typically used for acquiring or intercepting something, such as a thrown object, a disease, or a piece of information.

• She is good at catching the ball during the game
• He didn't want to risk catching a cold, so he stayed indoors

Often used in informal contexts to mean grabbing something quickly or getting caught on something accidentally.

• I managed to snag tickets to the concert before they sold out
• Her sleeve got snagged on the door handle as she walked by

Appropriate in situations where you need to secure someone or something, such as a moment, a person's attention, or an enemy.

• The soldier was commended for capturing the enemy
• The artist did a wonderful job capturing the essence of summer in his painting

As noted previously, hooking is ideal for describing an action involving catching or connecting with something or someone.

• The fisherman was hooking fish after fish in the lake.
• She is good at hooking people with her engaging stories.

Used when someone takes hold of something quickly or forcefully, typically with their hands. Often conveys a sense of urgency or determination.

• He was grabbing all the snacks before the movie started.
• She couldn't stop grabbing the last minute deals during the sale.

Used in instances where there is a blocking or interfering action, preventing movement or progress. It often has a formal or legal tone and negative connotations.

• The fallen tree was obstructing the road, causing a long traffic jam.
• His constant interruptions were obstructing the flow of the meeting.

Applicable in situations where someone or something is being slowed down, obstructed, or made difficult. Often has a negative connotation.

• Her broken leg is hindering her progress in the marathon.
• The heavy traffic was seriously hindering their ability to get to the meeting on time.

Commonly used in programming, particularly in security and software development, to describe capturing or modifying function calls or events.

• The antivirus software employed hooking techniques to monitor system calls.
• Hooking into the API allowed the developer to enhance the application's functionality.

Used to describe making changes to something, usually to improve or alter it. It's neutral and can apply to a wide range of contexts such as documents, software, and physical objects.

• She spent the afternoon modifying the report based on the feedback.
• The engineers are currently modifying the design of the prototype.

Implying the action of stopping or capturing something before it reaches its intended destination. Often used in security, both physical and digital, and in communication technology.

• The firewall is responsible for intercepting any unauthorized network traffic.
• She was skilled at intercepting enemy communications during the mission.

Describing the process of skillfully controlling or influencing something, usually with a negative connotation when referring to people or information, but neutral in contexts like data handling or scientific research.

• The scientist was manipulating the variables to observe different outcomes.
• He was accused of manipulating the data to support his theory.