shoo

Definition

To induce someone or something to leave.

Etymology

From Middle English schew, schowe, show, showe, scou (“shoo!”, interjection). Compare Middle High German schū, schuo (“shoo!”, interjection) (modern German scheu! (“shoo!”)), Dutch schuwen (“to shun”), German scheuchen (“to scare, drive away”).

Example Sentences

• "Don't just shoo away mosquitoes, kill them!"
• "See if you can shoo off the insurance salesmen."
• "It was those damned bandages over my eyes, the medley of voices that had shouted back at me down the corridor. But I certainly was getting the willies - and once you get 'em, they grow. Already they were past the stage where you can shoo them off by whistling or singing at yourself."