Definition of "ahoy" []

• Used to hail a ship or a person or to attract attention. (interjection)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "And then there's the pub, all brown and homely inside, but with seats outside where you can watch the activity on the water as the boats dislodge their holidaymaker crews in search of a pie and a pint, and people who look like habitual landlubbers establish their credentials by shouting commands which incorporate such seafarer words as "ahoy"."
• "The word "ahoy" will, however, be retained, and in fact used to even more excess than before."
• "The long drawn out "ahoy" had scarcely died on their lips before it was answered by an equally long blast from the whistle, to which they responded by repeating the hail at brief intervals, each answering blast of the whistle telling them that the boat was drawing nearer, until at length the faint loom of the boat showed in the darkness, and a lantern was suddenly held high above a man's head."