Ahoy is a nautical greeting sailors use to hail another ship or call attention to someone. When a lookout spots a vessel on the horizon, they might shout “Ahoy there!” to signal they've seen it. Pirates in stories famously cry “Ahoy, matey!” when greeting their shipmates.

The word comes from the age of sailing ships, when crews needed a loud, distinct call that would carry across wind and waves. Unlike “hello,” which works fine on land, ahoy was designed to cut through ocean noise and make people on other ships turn their heads.

Though rarely used today outside nautical contexts, ahoy still appears in sailing communities and maritime radio communications.