As its origin implies, hooch is a slang term for inferior or bootleg liquor. The Cambridge Dictionary broadens the definition to any form of strong alcohol, most specifically whiskey.
The liquid that is produced while making sourdough bread also is called hooch.
Thefreedictionary.com lists hooch as a slang term used for the drug marijuana, the dried leaves of the hemp plant usually rolled into a cigarette and smoked. This is a more modern definition of the word.
Hooch also has been used to describe a promiscuous female. The Online Slang Dictionary lists hooch as a shortened version of hoochie or hoochie mama, words that mean "loose or slutty woman" or prostitute.
Encyclopedia.com defines hooch as a thatched hut or a small roughly constructed building. It possibly is an alteration of the Japanese word "uchi," which means interior or inside.
During the Korean War, hooch (spelled 'hootch') was used to describe a prostitute's room or anywhere a serviceman would "shack up" with a woman. It also is used in military slang when referring to any military living quarters or barracks.
The Chattahoochee River, a waterway that rises in northern Georgia and flows southwest to join the Flint River at the Florida border, is referred to as "the Hooch" for short.