wow

¹

[wou]

interjection

1. (an exclamation of surprise, wonder, pleasure, or the like).

   Wow! Look at that!

verb (used with object)

1. to gain an enthusiastic response from; thrill.

noun

1. an extraordinary success.

   His act is a real wow.

2. excitement, interest, great pleasure, or the like.

   a car that will add some wow to your life.

wow

²

[wou]

noun

1. Audio.,  a slow wavering of pitch in sound recording or reproducing equipment caused by uneven speed of the turntable or the tape.

2. Scot. and North England Dialect.,  a howl, wail, bark, whine, or mew.

verb (used without object)

1. Scot. and North England Dialect.,  to howl, wail, bark, whine, or mew.

wow

¹

/ waʊ /

interjection

1. an exclamation of admiration, amazement, etc

noun

1. slang,  a person or thing that is amazingly successful, attractive, etc

verb

1. slang,  (tr) to arouse great enthusiasm in

WOW

²

abbreviation

1. waiting on weather: used esp in the oil industry

wow

³

/ waʊ, wəʊ /

noun

1. a slow variation or distortion in pitch that occurs at very low audio frequencies in sound-reproducing systems, such as a record player, usually due to variation in speed of the turntable, etc See also flutter

Word History and Origins

Origin of wow¹

1890–95; perhaps identical with Scots wow! exclamation of surprise or admiration

Origin of wow²

1800–10 wow ² for defs. 2, 3; 1930–35 wow ² for def. 1; imitative; the audio term is probably an independent formation

Word History and Origins

Origin of wow¹

C16: originally Scottish, expressive of surprise, amazement, etc

Origin of wow²

C20: of imitative origin

Example Sentences

There are numerous examples of companies that go public and don’t wow even in the first six months.

Read more on Barron's

"Oh wow so you do this a lot... how aren't you in jail?" one Instagram user wrote.

Read more on BBC

She said, “Oh, wow, is this for me?” and I was thrilled that she wanted to keep it.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But the green cynic changes his tune once he's wowed by some of the low price products on offer.

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"You can get a wow factor, a lot of crazy things, especially in short dramas."

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• charm 
• entertain