whoa

[ woh, hwoh ]

interjection

1. (used to command an animal, especially a horse, to stop.)
2. (used to tell a person to stop, wait, or slow down):

   Whoa, you need to sit over there and calm yourself.

3. (an exclamation of surprise, wonder, pleasure, etc.):

   Whoa, that's a great photo!

whoa

/ wəʊ /

interjection

1. a command used esp to horses to stop or slow down

Word History and Origins

Origin of whoa¹

First recorded in 1460–80; dialectal variant of ho ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of whoa¹

C19: variant of ho ¹

Example Sentences

One can only assume the hangover cries: “whoa, who did I vote for last night?”

From The Daily Beast

She then warns Russia to leave Ukraine alone, to which “Putin” replies, "Whoa, hey Capt. Buzzkill!"

From The Daily Beast

I do remember uttering Whoa, channeling my inner Keanu Reeves.

From The Daily Beast

But when he comes across ScarJo, who says, “Whoa, whoa, whoa: no sex before monogamy”—which is my role—he has to pay the toll.

From The Daily Beast

It came out right as I was about to graduate and I think people were like, “Whoa, maybe she was pretty!”

From The Daily Beast

"Whoa, Bob," he said soothingly, and one of them whinnied back in response as if glad to know that a human being was near.

From Project Gutenberg

With one foot on the brake, he was whoa-hawing his four-horse team and talking like a pirate.

From Project Gutenberg

"Whoa, boy," he soothed, patting the animal gently on the neck.

From Project Gutenberg

"Whoa," he cried excitedly, and Speed came to a stop and sat down on the ice.

From Project Gutenberg

But it would not be well for even Geronimo to give Whoa the lie.

From Project Gutenberg