A rough-edged loud call at its center, with related uses for noisy complaint, an improvised field song, and a regional word for a hollow between hills.
The singer shaped the holler with long, bending notes.
The worker answered with a distant holler.
The road dips into a narrow holler below the ridge.
Similar words
cry
grumble
gripe
glen
roar
yell
whoop
field call
cry out
moan
Meanings
Shout or call loudly
verb
everyday
informal
To raise the voice in a loud, informal shout, either to be heard at a distance or to call out words.
Usage
Use holler for loud calling that feels informal, emotional, or rougher than plain shout.
Examples
She hollered for help when the lights went out.
The coach hollered instructions from the sideline.
Someone hollered my name from across the street.
The children were hollering in the back yard.
He hollered that the gate was open.
Common mistakes
The third-person form and the preposition at are often missed.
Incorrect
Correct
She holler for help.
She hollers for help.
He hollered me from the porch.
He hollered at me from the porch.
They hollered quietly across the room.
They whispered quietly across the room.
Similar words
shout
yell
call
cry out
bellow
roar
whoop
Complain noisily
verb
everyday
informal
To complain loudly or persistently, especially about something annoying or unfair.
Usage
Use holler for complaint when the tone is noisy, irritated, and informal.
Examples
Residents hollered about the new parking fees.
He always hollers when the bill arrives.
The customers hollered until the manager came out.
Stop hollering about the weather and grab a coat.
People will holler if the train is late again.
Common mistakes
The complaint sense needs about for the thing being objected to.
Incorrect
Correct
They hollered the price increase.
They hollered about the price increase.
He hollers on the broken heater.
He hollers about the broken heater.
She hollered praise for the new rule.
She praised the new rule.
Similar words
complain
gripe
grumble
moan
whine
beef
bellyache
A loud shout
noun
everyday
informal
A loud cry or call, often quick and informal, used for attention, help, excitement, or warning.
Usage
Use holler for the sound itself, including friendly contact phrases like give me a holler.
Examples
A loud holler came from the barn.
Give me a holler when the package arrives.
The fans let out a holler after the goal.
We heard a holler somewhere down the trail.
Her holler brought everyone into the kitchen.
Common mistakes
The noun takes adjectives, while the verb takes adverbs.
Incorrect
Correct
I heard a holler loudly.
I heard a loud holler.
Give me holler when you arrive.
Give me a holler when you arrive.
A holler whispered from the hall.
A whisper came from the hall.
Similar words
shout
yell
cry
call
whoop
roar
bellow
A noisy complaint
noun
everyday
informal
A complaint or protest voiced with enough force that it feels like more than a quiet objection.
Usage
Use holler for a complaint when the point is the fuss, protest, or noise around it.
Examples
The rent increase brought a holler from every tenant.
There was a holler about the broken heater.
His only holler was that the room was too cold.
The council heard a fresh holler over the roadwork.
A small holler from the crew delayed the schedule.
Common mistakes
The complaint noun is not the same as an ordinary request or praise.
Incorrect
Correct
Her holler thanked the staff.
Her praise thanked the staff.
There was holler about the delay.
There was a holler about the delay.
He made a holler to reserve a table.
He made a call to reserve a table.
Similar words
complaint
gripe
grumble
objection
protest
beef
A field work song
noun
music
technical
A solo, improvised work song or musical cry from African American field and labor traditions, often called a field holler.
Usage
Use holler carefully for this musical and historical sense, usually in the form field holler or cornfield holler.
Examples
The recording preserves an old field holler from Mississippi.
A cornfield holler carried across the rows.
The singer shaped the holler with long, bending notes.
Blues historians often discuss the field holler as a source of later styles.
The worker answered with a distant holler.
Common mistakes
The music sense is narrowed too far when it is treated as any loud song.
Incorrect
Correct
The pop chorus is a field holler.
The pop chorus echoes a field-holler style.
Every work song is a holler.
A field holler is a solo work cry, not every work song.
The crowd sang a holler together in harmony.
The worker sang a field holler alone.
Similar words
field call
work song
cornfield holler
arhoolie
whoop
cry
A hollow or small valley
noun
geography
informal
A hollow or small valley, especially in Appalachian and Southern U.S. speech.
Usage
Use holler for this regional place word when the setting is a hollow between hills, not just any valley.
Examples
Their cabin sits deep in a wooded holler.
We followed the creek through the holler.
She grew up in a small Appalachian holler.
Fog settled in the holler before sunrise.
The road dips into a narrow holler below the ridge.
Common mistakes
The place sense is regional and should not replace every use of valley.
Incorrect
Correct
The Grand Canyon is a holler.
The Grand Canyon is a canyon.
We heard a holler between the hills.
We heard a shout between the hills.
Their house sits in an urban holler downtown.
Their house sits in an urban hollow downtown.
Similar words
hollow
valley
glen
dell
ravine
draw
cove
Usage
Let context separate the sound, the complaint, the music term, and the regional place word. The usual everyday sense is informal shouting.
Common mistakes
Hollered me drops the usual at, and the Appalachian place sense should not replace every ordinary valley.
Etymology
The shouting word is an American English variant of hollo, a call used to attract attention, with the noun later developing from the verb. The valley word is a dialectal form of hollow.
FAQ
What does holler mean most often?
Holler most often means to shout or call loudly in an informal way.
Can holler mean complain?
Yes. Holler can mean to gripe or complain loudly, and a holler can be a noisy complaint.
What is a field holler?
A field holler is a solo work cry or song from African American field and labor traditions.
What is an Appalachian holler?
In Appalachian and Southern U.S. speech, a holler is a hollow or small valley between hills.
Is holler formal?
Holler is usually informal, except in historical or musical terms such as field holler.
Is holler related to hollow?
The valley sense of holler is a dialectal form of hollow, while the shouting sense comes through hollo.
What is the past tense of holler?
The regular past tense is hollered, and the present participle is hollering.
Does give me a holler mean shout at me?
Usually no. Give me a holler means contact me or let me know, based on the noun sense of a call.
Comments & contributions
Know this word from another angle? Add a correction, a nuance, or a usage note. New posts go public after a quick review.
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Chilly Panther
Jul 11
Goofy holler is the only one my brain supplies first, sorry
0
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Lunar Penguin
Jul 9
en español yo lo traduciría distinto según el caso: gritar, quejarse, o avisarme si es "give me a holler"
1
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Jaunty Terrapin
Jul 7
i mixed up holler and holla for years lol
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Loyal Hoopoe
Jul 7
holler always sounds warmer than yell to me somehow
1
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Contribution
Smoky Sloth
Jul 7
In everyday US speech "hootin and hollerin" is its own little phrase for a noisy excited crowd. It doesnt mean a single shout, more like a lot of loud carrying-on.
4
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Contribution
Swift Bobcat
Jun 28
UK ear here, I understand it but wouldnt normally say it. "Stop hollering" sounds very American to me, I would say shouting or yelling.
3
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Contribution
Solid Snail
Jun 28
Field holler is narrower than just any work song. The old recordings are usually one voice, improvised, sometimes almost no words, more like a carried call than a chorus.
2
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Contribution
Curious Parrot
Jun 24
One of my ESL students kept writing "he hollered me" for "he called me." I would only use it that way with words or a name, like "she hollered my name." For the person, its usually hollered at me.
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Contribution
Quiet Giraffe
Jun 17
Where I grew up in eastern KY the map might say Hollow, but everybody said holler. It meant the little valley/road pocket, not a random big valley.
6
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Soft Quail
Jun 22
same in WV, half the hollers are basically one road and a creek
2
Contribution
Placid Egret
Jun 17
Also "holler at" can slide into flirting or trying to get someone's attention, especially the spelling holla. "He was trying to holla at her" is not the same mood as "the coach hollered at her".
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Contribution
Jolly Giraffe
Jun 14
learner trap: "holler at me" is often just "contact me" or "let me know." If a coworker says holler when you get there, they are not asking you to yell across the parking lot