Definition of "ooch"

(transitive)

1. (also reflexive) To move or slide (oneself or someone, or something) by a small amount.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • I ooched my car forward. In Dallas, tailgaiting is an art. You have to protect your place in traffic, or some yahoo will sneak in before you. So you have to drive two inches away from the bumper in front of you.

     2001 June, Chloe Green [pseudonym; Suzanne Frank], chapter 1, in Designed to Die, New York, N.Y.: Kensington Books, page 3

   • It was Stephen yet not Stephen whose calloused hand was rubbing her thigh; her skirt was ooched up around her hips – she was on guard as was her habit in those days.

     2002, Chip Martin, chapter 2, in The End of the Road: An Anglo-Californian Romance, London: Starhaven, book 2 (Destiny’s Darling), page 137

   • Brig ooched his chair next to mine, then casually wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

     2005 April, Flo Fitzpatrick, chapter 27, in Hot Stuff, New York, N.Y.: Zebra Books, page 209

   • So Kelp donned his stethoscope, ooched himself a little further in under the counter, and, while pressing the stethoscope to the face of the safe, began slowly to turn the combination dial.

     2009 July, Donald E[dwin] Westlake, chapter 45, in Get Real, New York, N.Y.: Grand Central Publishing, page 263

2. (also reflexive, figurative) To cause (oneself or someone, or something) to change or progress by a small amount or in small increments.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • An oocher, according to the The Encyclopedia Erratica, is a motorist who persists in ooching his speed to 35-miles-an-hour in a 30-mile zone. He also is the guy who insists on ooching another drink after the bars close.

     1953, Buildings, volume 53, Cedar Rapids, Iowa: Stamats Publishing Company, page 29, column 1

   • The credit card is inflationary (merchants must be expected to ooch prices a bit to compensate for their kickbacks to the banks), even though it is responsible for only 2% of today's $98.2 billion in consumer debt.

     1970 March 27, Paul O’Neil, “A Little Gift from Your Friendly Banker”, in Ralph Graves, editor, Life, volume 68, number 11, Chicago, Ill., New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., page 58, column 3

   • TV technology always ooched her away from wholesome programs about, for example, seals or giraffes, towards maybe, for heaven's sake, MTV.

     2000, Charles E. Moore, “The Best Toast”, in The Good, the Bad, & the Homely […], New York, N.Y.: Ardor Scribendi, pages 311–312

   • I am rarely political in my work, but apparently present and proposed military engagements have "ooched" their way into the consciousness of my dye pot.

     2003, “The Quilts [Jan Myers-Newbury, Cat’s Game]”, in Dawn Cusick, editor, Quilt National 2003: The Best of Contemporary Quilts, New York, N.Y.: Lark Books, Sterling Publishing, page 46

   • I realize that ooching might seem like a stretch for writers. It's one thing for a tech start-up to ooch their software, but it's a different proposition for a writer to ooch a book. After all, writing a book takes a long time. How do you iterate on a novel when the first draft alone might take years?

     2016, Gabriela Pereira, “Generate Ideas on Demand”, in Rachel Randall, editor, DIY MFA: Write with Focus, Read with Purpose, Build Your Community, Cincinnati, Oh.: Writer’s Digest Books, page 52

3. (figurative) To force (someone or something) to move without noticeable disruption or opposition; to nudge.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • There is one man I haven't mentioned, who quietly, without any ostentation at all, circulated among all the thousands of boys and girls, who had been "ooched" out of Johnsville when the guards were arrested, a fellow by the name of Rifkin.

     1943 October 26, Frederick Riebel, Jr., witness, “Testimony of Frederick Riebel, Jr., Ex-President, Brewster Aeronautical Corporation; Production Consultant, Material Group, Production Division, Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy—Resumed”, in Investigation of the Progress of the War Effort: Hearings before a Subcommittee Appointed to Investigate Causes of Failure of Production of Brewster Aeronautical Corporation under Its Contracts with the Navy: Committee on Naval Affairs, House of Representatives, Seventy-eighth Congress, First Session: Pursuant to H. Res. 30: A Resolution Authorizing and Directing an Investigation of the Progress of the War Effort […], volume 4 (Brewster Investigation), Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office, published 1944, page 2636

   • This was a high-class white neighborhood in those days, before the colored ooched them out.

     1977, Shelby Foote, “What Went Down”, in September September, New York, N.Y., Toronto, Ont.: Random House, page 204

(intransitive)

1. To move or slide by a small amount; to scooch, to scoot.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • She didn't really pull away, just ooched over a little, leaving two or three inches between us—and I liked her better for it.

     1963, Ralph Moody, “Judy’s Story”, in The Dry Divide, New York, N.Y.: W[illiam] W[arder] Norton & Company, page 45

   • All a guy has to do is yank on a T-shirt or a sweatshirt or something and he's done. No wires to pinch, no straps to slip, no overflow ooching over the sides or between the zipper that refuses to close unless you lie flat on your back and give up breathing.

     2004 November, Karen Templeton, chapter 5, in Hanging by a Thread, Don Mills, Ont.: Red Dress Ink, page 81

   • Then my little white-haired mother Jean Eagle ooched in for her hug.

     2015, Emily Sue Harvey, Space, [United States]: The Story Plant

2. To move around in a restricted or small space; to squeeze, to squirm.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • I still got sand stuck between my toes. I can feel it ooching around down there.

     1983, P. J. Petersen, chapter 10, in The Boll Weevil Express […], New York, N.Y.: Delacorte Press, page 117

   • Yes, Mr. Porter is ooching in his chair because we think you're dead wrong on that.

     1986, Connelly, chairman, Public Hearings: Nursing Home Preadmission Screening—Program or Promise?: Transcript […], Sacramento, Calif.: Subcommittee on Long-term Care, Special Committee on Medi-Cal Oversight, California State Legislature

   • Obsessed now with the idea that I had to retrieve those papers, I went around to the end of the platform, shoved aside the two low wooden steps, and peered under. Now nice, orderly rows of steel legs appeared, spaced apart and forming a low crawl space. Removing my coat, I began ooching under. I could see my papers leaning against the wall. Ooch, reach, got 'em!

     1990 August, Gordon Baxter, “The Bax Seat: The Indy 600”, in J. Mac McClellan, editor, Flying, volume 117, number 8, New York, N.Y.: Diamandis Communications, page 111, column 2

   • Dangling head-down from a piece of siding on the house, the caterpillar shed its skin like a fleshy lady ooching out of her panty hose.

     2002, Stephanie Mills, “The Others”, in Epicurean Simplicity, Washington, D.C.: Shearwater Books, Island Press, page 78

3. (figurative) To change or progress by a small amount or in small increments; to nudge.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • I mean, come on, unemployment is down for 3 straight months, and that's a good thing. In fact, unemployment claims, even they ooched up a tiny bit now, are for the last 3 or 4 months at all-time lows, which is encouraging in terms of what it says about the fundamentals of this economy.

     1992 October 29, George Herbert Walker Bush, “Remarks to the South Wayne County Chamber of Commerce in Southgate, Michigan”, in Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, volume 28, number 44, Washington, D.C.: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, published 2 November 1992, page 2193, column 2

   • We have often found that after a short period of "ooching" our way into a new venture, we need to change strategies and goals to take advantage of the new opportunities and markets that present themselves.

     1996, James Truchard, InTech: The International Journal for Measurement and Control, volume 43, Research Triangle Park, N.C.: Instrument Society of America, page 67, column 2

   • One afternoon as Lou ooched across the hot pavement in that awkward transition from the shade to the water, a black bathing suit and a slender arm brushed by him.

     2000, Billy Bob Hill, Laurie Champion, editors, Texas Short Stories 2, Dallas, Tex.: Browder Springs Books, page 82

   • Let me tell you my thoughts about tax relief. When your economy is kind of ooching along, it's important to let people have more of their own money.

     2002 October 4, George W[alker] Bush, “Remarks at a Reception for Gubernatorial Candidate Mitt Romney in Boston, Massachusetts”, in Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, volume 38, number 40, Washington, D.C.: Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, published 7 October 2002, page 1689, column 2

   • Once Toby was underway, and as the day had ooched forward without further calamity, Randy and Matthew made a quick escape for some necessary errands.

     2003, Helen Baldwin, chapter 75, in The Jeffrey Journey, Victoria, B.C.: Trafford Publishing, page 181

   • The "ooching" terminology is our favorite, but we wanted to be clear that these groups are all basically saying the same thing: Dip a toe in before you plunge in headfirst. Given the popularity of this concept, and given the clear payoff involved—little bets that can improve large decisions—you might wonder why ooching isn't more instinctive.

     2013, Chip Heath, Dan Heath, Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work, New York, N.Y.: Crown Business, Crown Publishing Group, page 140

4. (figurative) To force to move without noticeable disruption or opposition.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • From what General Slate said, Prettyboy will just get ooched out of Fort Murray and shipped to some nice restful post in Alaska.

     1960, Don Tracy, Deadly to Bed (Permabooks; M4176), New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, page 174

5. (sailing) To propel a boat or sailboard by rocking one's body back and forth.  quotations  examples

   Quotations

   • But if you are racing a boat without a chute, especially a single-hander, ooching is usually more effective.

     1977, Yacht Racing, volume 16, Chicago, Ill.: One-Design Yachtsman, page 46, column 2

   • Ooching involves the lower haIf of the body and the board. By pushing the board back and forth in small places, by minimal extension and retraction of the knees, the planing condition can be induced or enhanced.

     1985, Sail Boarder International, volume 5, number 4, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.: Surfer Publishing Group, page 75

   • You go below to check on Bud and review the racing rules. Prohibited actions include: sculling, pumping, and ooching.

     1989, Anne Lorimer Sirna, ChapWoman’s Alwomanac: Pilot Handling throughout the Year, Camden, Me.: Seven Seas Press, page 34

   • Moving the trunk of the body forward and backwards, even in strong winds, can flap the leech and increase the sail's drive (ooching).

     2013, Bryan Willis, “Means of Propulsion”, in The Rules in Practice: 2013–2016, Chichester, West Sussex: Wiley Nautical, John Wiley & Sons, page 84

A small amount by which something has changed or moved.  quotations  examples

(figurative) A small change or small amount of progress.  quotations  examples

(sailing) An act of propelling a boat or sailboard forward by rocking one's body.  quotations  examples

A cry of discomfort or pain: ouch.  quotations  examples

(informal) Something that causes discomfort or pain; an ouch.  quotations  examples

(intransitive) To cry out in discomfort or pain; to ouch.  quotations  examples

(obsolete except historical or poetic) Alternative spelling of ouche (“a brooch or clasp for fastening a piece of clothing together, especially when set with jewels or valuable”)  quotations