Word.ws English Dictionary

hook, line and sinker

/ˌhʊk ˌlaɪn ən(d)ˈsɪŋkə(ɹ)/

hook, line and sinker adverb: completely; (of a belief or acceptance) naively or unquestioningly.

Adverb

hook, line and sinker

  1. Completely; (of a belief or acceptance) naively or unquestioningly.
    • I told him you were just a friend, and he fell for it hook, line and sinker.
    • In a lengthy post on his social media website, Truth Social, Trump accused his voters on Wednesday of falling for what he called a “radical left” hoax by the opposition to discredit him. “Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into...2025 July 17, Oliver Holmes, “Trump calls Epstein conspiracy a ‘hoax’ and turns on Maga ‘weaklings’”, in The Guardian
    Synonyms:
    completely

Synonyms of hook, line and sinker

Forms of hook, line and sinker

alternative formrod, line and sinker

Origin of hook, line and sinker

From all the parts of a fishing tackle that may be lost to a fish. Appeared in 1838 as a metaphor from angling.

Questions about hook, line and sinker

What does hook, line and sinker mean?
Hook, line and sinker means completely; (of a belief or acceptance) naively or unquestioningly.
What part of speech is hook, line and sinker?
Hook, line and sinker is an adverb.
How do you pronounce hook, line and sinker?
Hook, line and sinker is pronounced /ˌhʊk ˌlaɪn ən(d)ˈsɪŋkə(ɹ)/.

Words near hook, line and sinker in the dictionary

  1. hook turns
  2. hook up
  3. hook up on
  4. hook wrench
  5. hook wrenches
  6. hook, line and sinker
  7. hook-a-duck
  8. Hook-a-Gate
  9. hook-and-bullet
  10. hook-and-liner
  11. hook-and-liners

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: hook, line and sinker (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-hook, line and sinker.wav, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-hook, line and sinker.wav.

Cite this entry: “hook, line and sinker.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hook%2C_line_and_sinker. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.