Hook

For other uses, see Hook (disambiguation).

A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's design allows traction forces to be relayed through the curved/indented portion to and from the proximal end of the hook, which is either a straight shaft (known as the hook's shank) or a ring (sometimes called the hook's "eye") for attachment to a thread, rope or chain, providing a reversible attachment between two objects.

Lifting hook on a crane truck with a standard round hook and a gated opening

A cabin hook used as a latch for a wooden gate

Fish hooks are pointed and often barbed to help catch and tether a fish's mouth

The main anchor of IJN battleship Hiei with the classic double-hook design

Clothes hangers with a top hook to hang onto a crossbar or a clothesline

A grappling hook with multiple hooks to increase the chances of catching and anchoring onto a surface or an object

A crochet hook with a deep hooking groove near the tip, used to pull yarns during embroidery

A hook-and-eye clasp is composed of two pieces that are sewn to clothing, one of which serves as a hook while the other as a staple

In many cases, the distal end of the hook is sharply pointed to enable penetration into the target material, providing a firmer anchorage. Some hooks, particularly fish hooks, also have a barb, a backwards-pointed projection near the pointed end that functions as a secondary "mini-hook" to catch and trap surrounding material, ensuring that the hook point cannot be easily pulled back out once embedded in the target.

Variations

Golden pothook pictured in the coat of arms of Jäppilä

• Bagging hook, a large sickle or reaping hook used for harvesting grain
• Bondage hook, used in sexual bondage play
• Cabin hook, a hooked bar that engages into an eye screw, used on doors
• Cap hook, hat ornament of the 15th and 16th centuries
• Cargo hook, different types of hook systems for helicopters
• Crochet hook, used for crocheting thread or yarn
• Drapery hook, for hanging drapery
• Dress hook, fashion accessory
• Ear hook, to attach earrings
• Fish hook, used to catch fish
• Flesh-hook, used in cooking meat
• Grappling hook, a hook attached to a rope, designed to be thrown and snagged on a target
• Hook and chain coupler, mechanical part for the coupling for railway vehicles
• Hook (hand tool), also known as longshoreman's hook and bale hook, a tool used for securing and moving loads
• Hook-and-eye closure, a clothing fastener
• Hook-and-loop fastener, a type of textile fastener
• Hook hand, also called prosthesis, an artificial hand replacement made from a hook
• Lifting hook, for grabbing and lifting loads
• Mail hook, for grabbing mail bags without stopping a train
• Meat hook, for hanging up meat or carcasses of animals in butcheries and meat industry
• Prosthetic hook or transradial prosthesis, part of a prosthetic arm for amputees
• Purse hook, used to keep a woman's purse from touching the floor
• Shepherd's hook, a staff used in herding sheep or other animals
• Siege hook, an Ancient Roman weapon used to pull stones from a wall during a siege
• Tailhook, used by aircraft to snag cables in order to slow down more quickly