pooh-pooh

verb

ˈpü-(ˌ)pü 

pü-ˈpü

variants or less commonly poo-poo or pooh

ˈpü 

pooh-poohed also poohed; pooh-poohing also poohing; pooh-poohs also poohs

intransitive verb

: to express contempt or impatience

transitive verb

: to express contempt for or make light of : play down, dismiss

pooh-pooher noun

or less commonly poo-pooer

plural pooh-poohers also poo-pooers

Despite what chief Providence pooh-pooher Jack Thomas writes in the Globe, I say the place is worth regular visits, especially after a day at the beach in southern Rhode Island.

—Paul Fischer

Examples of pooh-pooh in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

National Weather Service debunks woolly bear forecasting abilities Of course, the National Weather Service has come along to pooh-pooh the woolly bear's winter foresight, with its science and facts. —Chad Murphy, The Enquirer, 31 Oct. 2024

No wonder his officers pooh-pooh Haiti’s gangs as amateurs compared to their previous foes, like Al Shabaab – though the al Qaeda affiliate hasn’t been entirely vanquished back home in Kenya. —Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 10 Aug. 2024

Experts in the wind-power industry pooh-pooh such warnings. —Peter Fairley, IEEE Spectrum, 28 Dec. 2010

Still others pooh-pooh the suggestion that British voters would make decisions at the ballot box based on the political direction of another country, even one as close and influential as the United States. —Mark Landler, New York Times, 5 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

pooh

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Kids Definition

pooh-pooh

verb

ˈpü-pü,

pü-ˈpü

variants also pooh

ˈpü

1

: to express scorn or impatience

2

: to treat with scorn : deride

pooh-pooh the idea of ghosts