What does cahoot mean?
Cahoot is an informal noun that lives almost entirely inside one famous phrase: "in cahoots." To be in cahoots with someone is to be in a secret partnership or collusion with them, typically for purposes that are dishonest, underhand, or at least mischievous. Journalists use it constantly to describe corrupt officials working behind the public's back, while everyday speakers reach for it just as happily to accuse siblings of plotting together over a birthday surprise. The word almost always appears in its plural form, cahoots, and rarely stands alone outside the fixed expression. Its origins point back to French cahute, meaning a small hut or cabin, suggesting the image of co-conspirators huddled together out of sight. Punchy and instantly recognizable, cahoot gives writers a compact way to signal secrecy and scheming without resorting to heavier terms like conspiracy.
nounIn cahoots: partnership or collusion, usually secret and often for a dishonest or mischievous purpose. The word is used almost exclusively in the phrase "in cahoots (with someone)".
- Used almost exclusively in the phrase "in cahoots": secret partnership or collusion, especially in wrongdoing or mischief.
"The two brokers were in cahoots to drive up the stock price before dumping their shares."
"The auditor discovered that the accountant had been in cahoots with a supplier to inflate invoices."
"My brother and I were clearly in cahoots to sneak the puppy into the house before Mom noticed."
The singular "cahoot" is rare; the plural "cahoots" is standard and appears almost exclusively in the phrase "in cahoots".
"The two companies were found to be in cahoots on the bidding scheme."
"Cahoot" likely comes from French "cahute", meaning a small hut — so when crooks are "in cahoots", they are literally hiding together in a shack.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of cahoot
Cahoot entered English in the early nineteenth century, borrowed from American usage that traces back to the French cahute, meaning a small cabin or hut. The underlying idea is of confederates hidden away together in a cramped shelter, which suits the word's conspiratorial sense perfectly. It spread through nineteenth-century American English alongside frontier slang and quickly became fossilized in the phrase "in cahoots." The related French verb cohuter, meaning to shake or jolt together, shares the same root family.
How cahoot is actually used
Informal register. Almost never appears alone — it is virtually always pluralized as "cahoots" and locked inside the fixed phrase "in cahoots (with)". The connotation is usually of shady or conspiratorial dealings, though it can also be used humorously for harmless mischief.
Easily confused with cahoot
A cohort is an associate, supporter, or group sharing a characteristic; being in cahoots specifically means colluding secretly, often dishonestly.