Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Hoof \Hoof\, n.

   {On the hoof}, of cattle, standing (on the hoof); not
      slaughtered. Hook \Hook\, n. (Geog.)
   A spit or narrow cape of sand or gravel turned landward at
   the outer end; as, Sandy Hook.

Hook \Hook\, v. i.
   To move or go with a sudden turn; hence [Slang or Prov.
   Eng.], to make off; to clear out; -- often with it. ``Duncan
   was wounded, and the escort hooked it.'' --Kipling.

Hook \Hook\, n. [OE. hok, AS. h[=o]c; cf. D. haak, G. hake,
   haken, OHG. h[=a]ko, h[=a]go, h[=a]ggo, Icel. haki, Sw. hake,
   Dan. hage. Cf. {Arquebuse}, {Hagbut}, {Hake}, {Hatch} a half
   door, {Heckle}.]
   1. A piece of metal, or other hard material, formed or bent
      into a curve or at an angle, for catching, holding, or
      sustaining anything; as, a hook for catching fish; a hook
      for fastening a gate; a boat hook, etc.

   2. That part of a hinge which is fixed to a post, and on
      which a door or gate hangs and turns.

   3. An implement for cutting grass or grain; a sickle; an
      instrument for cutting or lopping; a billhook.

            Like slashing Bentley with his desperate hook.
                                                  --Pope.

   4. (Steam Engin.) See {Eccentric}, and {V-hook}.

   5. A snare; a trap. [R.] --Shak.

   6. A field sown two years in succession. [Prov. Eng.]

   7. pl. The projecting points of the thigh bones of cattle; --
      called also {hook bones}.

   {By hook or by crook}, one way or other; by any means, direct
      or indirect. --Milton. ``In hope her to attain by hook or
      crook.'' --Spenser.

   {Off the hooks}, unhinged; disturbed; disordered. [Colloq.]
      ``In the evening, by water, to the Duke of Albemarle, whom
      I found mightly off the hooks that the ships are not gone
      out of the river.'' --Pepys.

Hook \Hook\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Hooked}; p. pr. & vb. n.
   {Hooking}.]
   1. To catch or fasten with a hook or hooks; to seize,
      capture, or hold, as with a hook, esp. with a disguised or
      baited hook; hence, to secure by allurement or artifice;
      to entrap; to catch; as, to hook a dress; to hook a trout.

            Hook him, my poor dear, . . . at any sacrifice. --W.
                                                  Collins.

   2. To seize or pierce with the points of the horns, as cattle
      in attacking enemies; to gore.

   3. To steal. [Colloq. Eng. & U.S.]

   {To hook on}, to fasten or attach by, or as by, hook.

Hook \Hook\, v. i.
   To bend; to curve as a hook.

Source : WordNet®

hook
     n 1: a catch for locking a door
     2: a sharp curve or crook; a shape resembling a hook [syn: {crotchet}]
     3: anything that serves as an enticement [syn: {bait}, {come-on},
         {lure}, {sweetener}]
     4: a mechanical device that is curved or bent to suspend or
        hold or pull something [syn: {claw}]
     5: a curved or bent implement for suspending or pulling
        something
     6: a golf shot that curves to the left for a right-handed
        golfer; "he tooks lessons to cure his hooking" [syn: {draw},
         {hooking}]
     7: a short swinging punch delivered from the side with the
        elbow bent
     8: a basketball shot made over the head with the hand that is
        farther from the basket [syn: {hook shot}]

hook
     v 1: fasten with a hook [ant: {unhook}]
     2: rip off; ask an unreasonable price [syn: {overcharge}, {soak},
         {surcharge}, {gazump}, {fleece}, {plume}, {pluck}, {rob}]
        [ant: {undercharge}]
     3: make a piece of needlework by interlocking and looping
        thread with a hooked needle; "She sat there crocheting all
        day" [syn: {crochet}]
     4: hit a ball and put a spin on it so that it travels to the
        left
     5: take by theft; "Someone snitched my wallet!" [syn: {snitch},
         {thieve}, {cop}, {knock off}, {glom}]
     6: make off with belongings of others [syn: {pilfer}, {cabbage},
         {purloin}, {pinch}, {abstract}, {snarf}, {swipe}, {sneak},
         {filch}, {nobble}, {lift}]
     7: hit with a hook; "His opponent hooked him badly"
     8: catch with a hook; "hook a fish"
     9: to cause (someone or oneself) to become dependent (on
        something, especially a narcotic drug) [syn: {addict}]
     10: secure with the foot; "hook the ball"
     11: entice and trap; "The car salesman had snared three
         potential customers" [syn: {snare}]
     12: approach with an offer of sexual favors; "he was solicited
         by a prostitute"; "The young man was caught soliciting in
         the park" [syn: {solicit}, {accost}]

Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

HOOK
     
        ? Object Oriented Kernel.  Delphia.  An object-oriented
        extension of Delphia Prolog.
     
        [{Jargon File}]

hook
     
         A {software} or {hardware} feature included in
        order to simplify later additions or changes by a user.
     
        For example, a simple program that prints numbers might always
        print them in base 10, but a more flexible version would let a
        variable determine what base to use; setting the variable to 5
        would make the program print numbers in base 5.  The variable
        is a simple hook.  An even more flexible program might examine
        the variable and treat a value of 16 or less as the base to
        use, but treat any other number as the address of a
        user-supplied routine for printing a number.  This is a
        {hairy} but powerful hook; one can then write a routine to
        print numbers as Roman numerals, say, or as Hebrew characters,
        and plug it into the program through the hook.
     
        Often the difference between a good program and a superb one
        is that the latter has useful hooks in judiciously chosen
        places.  Both may do the original job about equally well, but
        the one with the hooks is much more flexible for future
        expansion of capabilities.
     
        {Emacs}, for example, is *all* hooks.
     
        The term "user exit" is synonymous but much more formal and
        less hackish.
     
        (1997-06-25)