What does hose mean?
A hose is a flexible tube designed to carry or spray water, and the word most commonly refers to an outdoor garden hose or a larger fire hose. It can also be used as a verb: to hose something is to wash, soak, or spray it with water from a hose. The word has a practical, everyday tone, but it can sound more formal or archaic when referring to a stocking or leg covering, as in expressions connected with wearing hose. “Hose” is especially associated with gardening, firefighting, industrial equipment, and cleaning. Its history reflects a broad change in meaning: the Old English word referred to a covering for the leg, while the modern tube sense developed from that older clothing-related word. The result is a useful example of how a common object can acquire a distinct technical and domestic vocabulary.
A flexible tube for carrying or spraying water or another liquid, such as a garden hose or fire hose. In older or literary usage, a stocking or similar covering of the leg and foot.
"The garden hose had been left running across the lawn."
The stocking sense is now chiefly literary, historical, or British.
To spray, wash, or soak something with water from a hose.
"Workers hosed the pavement to reduce the dust."
This verb is informal but standard, especially in gardening, cleaning, and firefighting.
The regular plural of the noun meaning a flexible tube is “hoses.”
"The firefighters connected several hoses to the hydrant."
From the stockings that once covered the leg to the garden tube that waters the lawn, hose has travelled from clothing to household equipment.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hose come from?
The word comes from Old English hosa, originally referring to a leg covering or stocking. It developed the modern sense of a flexible tube in the medieval period, probably through the use of similarly shaped fabric tubes and then actual pipes. The word has close cognates in Old Norse hosa, Dutch hoos, and German Hose, all associated with trousers, leggings, or hose-like coverings.
Related word forms
How hose is actually used
The noun is common in practical and everyday contexts, while “hose” for a stocking is now literary, archaic, or British. The verb “hose” is informal but established, especially in gardening, washing, and firefighting contexts.
Easily confused with hose
Hose is a flexible tube or the act of spraying with one, whereas hoes is the plural of hoe, a tool used for digging or weeding soil.