hoover

Clean with suction

To hoover is to vacuum, used primarily in British English where the brand name became generic: I need to hoover the carpets before the guests arrive.

The verb extends to enthusiastic consumption—hoovering up food means eating it quickly and thoroughly: The kids hoovered up the pizza in minutes. (Capitalized Hoover is the brand name, surname, or dam.)

verb

vacuum

Absence of matter

suck upFlatter for advantage
cleanFree of soil
tidyFree from clutter

devour · gobble · consume

cleaning

carpet

Thick floor textile

rugTextile floor covering
upholsteryFurniture's textile layer
hardwoodDense deciduous timber

crumbs · dust · debris · lint · dander · allergens · cobwebs · dirt · grime · particles

genericized

xerox

Duplicate via machine

jacuzziWhirlpool bath with jets
thermosInsulated liquid container
escalatorAutomated people-lifting stairs

velcro · zipper · aspirin · band-aid · bubble wrap · dumpster · jet ski · onesie · popsicle · rollerblades

Categories

eating and drinkingeat, drink, chew, bite, swallow
British slangblag, bloke, bodge, blagger, bobby

Opposites

cleaning action

Distribute in random directions

spread · dirty · soil · litter · deposit

consumption behavior (British slang)

hooverfast

Speedy, or skip eating

abstain · starve · nibble · pick at · refuse

Phrases

J. Edgar Hoover
Hoover DamConcrete arch-gravity structure on Colorado
Herbert Hoover
hoovering upConsuming rapidly and completely
hoover upConsume rapidly, completely
hoovered upCleaned or consumed greedily

Family

hoovered, hoovers, hoovering

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G