spooked; spooking; spooks
1
2
: to make frightened or frantic : scare
especially
: to startle into violent activity (such as stampeding)
: to become spooked
cattle spooking at shadows
Synonyms
Examples of spook in a Sentence
Noun
Russia recalled its spooks after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Halloween is the night when spooks and goblins are said to roam abroad.
Verb
The noise spooked the cat.
The little girl was spooked by scary masks.
Recent Examples on the Web
Skyler Caruso, People.com, 30 Oct. 2024
Even no-nonsense John Wayne once spotted a spook at Monte V. A crying baby often chases workers from the basement.
—Roger Naylor and Scott Craven, The Arizona Republic, 18 Oct. 2024
Erika Tulfo, CNN, 20 Oct. 2024
At first, many teachers were spooked by AI and thought kids might be more prone to cheat with the new technology.
—Madeline Mitchell, The Enquirer, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spook 
Noun
Read on for what the cosmos have in store for your zodiac sign this Halloween amid Scorpio season, according to PEOPLE's resident astrologer Kyle Thomas
Comments
There's a spook in the stars!
—Skyler Caruso, People.com, 30 Oct. 2024
Even no-nonsense John Wayne once spotted a spook at Monte V. A crying baby often chases workers from the basement.
—Roger Naylor and Scott Craven, The Arizona Republic, 18 Oct. 2024
Verb
But chocolate lovers don’t need to be spooked — the candy staple isn’t going away anytime soon.
—Erika Tulfo, CNN, 20 Oct. 2024
At first, many teachers were spooked by AI and thought kids might be more prone to cheat with the new technology.
—Madeline Mitchell, The Enquirer, 15 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spook
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spook.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Spook.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spook. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spook
1 of 2 nounspook
2 of 2 verb
: to make or become frightened : scare
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