spook
part of speech
noun (a spook, spooks); verb (spook, spooks, spooked, spooking); adjective spooky
meaning for a pupil
1) (informal) A spook is a ghost. tree →
2) To spook someone or an animal is to frighten or startle them suddenly. tree →
3) (informal, US) A spook is a spy. tree →
4) (offensive) "Spook" has also been used as a nasty insult for Black people; it should not be used about people. tree →
sense in the lessons
In stories and at Halloween, spooks and spooky houses are fun scary things. In nature and farm life, a sudden noise can spook a horse, which may bolt; that is a safety point around horses. In spy stories, spooks are secret agents.
examples
- The old house was said to be full of spooks. tree →
- The loud bang spooked the horse and it ran off. tree →
- Don't creep up behind me — you spooked me! tree →
- We dressed up as spooks for Halloween. tree →
- The film was about spooks working for the secret service. tree →
- The cat was spooked by its own reflection. tree →
- Walk calmly near horses so you don't spook them. tree →
note
Adjective: spooky ("a spooky story"). Usually informal. The insult sense is offensive and must never be used. "Spooked" means suddenly frightened.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «spook» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.