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
Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2024
Outside of Phoenix, Western theme park Old Tucson is delivering spooks with its Nightfall at Old Tucson event that includes haunted mazes, roaming scares and magic shows.
—Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 15 Oct. 2024
Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2024
Investors were spooked earlier this year when analysts hypothesized Musk would step away if his massive compensation package was struck down.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spook 
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Noun
But that didn’t stop Joe Barton, creator of Black Doves, the Netflix Christmas spy thriller now streaming, from encumbering star Keira Knightley as dedicated wife and professional spook Helen Webb with Ben Whishaw‘s Sam Young, a fellow spy and assassin, in all matters of love and relationships.
—Etan Vlessing, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2024
Outside of Phoenix, Western theme park Old Tucson is delivering spooks with its Nightfall at Old Tucson event that includes haunted mazes, roaming scares and magic shows.
—Michael Salerno, The Arizona Republic, 15 Oct. 2024
Verb
Friday the 13th didn’t spook investors with U.S. stocks little changed on the day as investors bided time until the Federal Reserve meeting on Wednesday.
—Medora Lee, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2024
Investors were spooked earlier this year when analysts hypothesized Musk would step away if his massive compensation package was struck down.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spook
Dictionary Entries Near spook
Cite this Entry
“Spook.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spook. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
spook
1 of 2 nounspook
2 of 2 verb
: to make or become frightened : scare
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