Hypo Meaning
/ˈhaɪ.pəʊ/Definition, CEFR level C2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounMelancholy; a fit of hypochondria; a morbid depression.
nounA hypochondriac.
Sentence Examples
The term 'hypo' is often used as a shorthand for sodium thiosulfate.
Photographers once used hypo to fix their black and white prints.
The photographer used a hypo solution to fix the print.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor used a clean ____ to inject the medicine into the muscle.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The photographer used ____ to fix the images on the film during the development process.
Word Origin & History
Clipping of various terms beginning with hypo-, from Ancient Greek ὑπό (hupó, “under”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"whenever my hypos get such an upper hand of me, that it requires a strong moral principle to prevent me from deliberately stepping into the street, and methodically knocking people's hats off--then, I account it high time to get to sea as soon as I can. (Chapter 1, "Loomings")
But thou sayest, methinks that white-lead chapter about whiteness is but a white flag hung out from a craven soul; thou surrenderest to a hypo, Ishmael. (Chapter 42, "The Whiteness of the Whale")"
— 1851, Herman Melville, Moby-Dick:
"Certainly no one can accuse a bunch of hypos of lying dormant during the noon-hour. The activity, inside and out, is simply terrific. To us, personally, by far the most interesting group of hypochondriacs in attendance at this particular emporium […]"
— 1953, General Motors Acceptance Corporation, General Exchange Insurance Corporation, Motors Insurance Corporation, News and Views, page 30:
"My top lip tingles, and I'm clearly hypoing but I don't know what my sugar level is, it was 9.8 when I went to bed, which is fine. I've hypoed a lot lately."
— 2019, Charlotte Bates, quoting Alice, Vital Bodies: Living with Illness, Bristol: Policy Press, →ISBN, page unknown:
"Bacterium and virus count—as usual. Lots of it. Apparently not too dangerous. Not with every single soul hypoed and immunized and hormoned to his eyebrows."
— 1956, Clifford Simak, Strangers in the Universe, New York: Simon and Schuster, page 113:
"Stations across the country hypoed the Beatle excitement with offers of fan club cards, free records. Beatle contests of all sorts, and a continual push on the Capitol, Swan, Vee Jay and MGM releases by the group."
— 1964 February 29, Jack Maher, “Beatles Bug As They Command Air”, in Billboard, volume 76, number 9, page 8:
Explore More C2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor used a clean ____ to inject the medicine into the muscle.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The photographer used ____ to fix the images on the film during the development process.