chow

¹ American  

[chou] / tʃaʊ /

noun

1. food, especially hearty dishes or a meal.

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verb phrase

1. chow down to eat; eat a meal, especially the main meal of the day.

   In the army we usually chow down at 6 p.m.

chow ² American  

[chou] / tʃaʊ /

noun

(often initial capital letter)

1. chow chow.

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Chow ³ American  

[chou] / tʃaʊ /

noun

Australian Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Chinese person.

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chow British  

/ tʃaʊ /

noun

1. informal food

2. short for chow-chow

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Etymology

Origin of chow¹

1855–60, short for chow-chow

Origin of chow²

Short form

Origin of Chow³

First recorded in 1870–75; special use of spelling variant ( Chow ) of Chou ( def. )

Example Sentences

Not only are the waters often stocked with bass and trout, which the eagles chow down on, but they’re surrounded by trees where they nest.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 3, 2026

“We would talk about it in the barracks, we would talk about it in the gym, we would talk about it at the chow hall,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025

To investigate, the team studied adult male rats fed either a standard chow diet or a rotating cafeteria diet made up of high-fat, high-sugar foods for seven and a half weeks.

From Science Daily • Oct. 21, 2025

You could chow down at a taco truck or learn to draw Japanese calligraphy.

From Slate • Oct. 21, 2024

When Johnson went to chow, I asked Lobel what the hell was going on with him about Brew.

From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers