a Chinese mixed fruit preserve.
a relish of chopped mixed pickles in mustard sauce.
Often shortened to: chow. a thick-coated breed of the spitz type of dog with a curled tail and a characteristic blue-black tongue; it came originally from China
a Chinese preserve of ginger, orange peel, etc in syrup
a mixed vegetable pickle
1785–95; said to be < dialectal Chinese; compare Guangdong dial. gáu dog
Borrowed into English from Chinese Pidgin English around 1785–95
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Kathryn, on the other hand, is filling up her days with a part-time position at the local mall’s J.Crew outlet and taking care of eight chow chow puppies she’s named after Maroon 5 songs.
From Salon ● May 17, 2025
Both are also closely related to dingoes, and slightly more distantly to other dogs of East Asian origin like the chow chow, Akita, and shiba inu.
From Science Magazine ● Aug. 31, 2020
They are paired with green goddess dressing and glorious chow chow, a hot pickled vegetable relish with a preponderance of cauliflower.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2019
Expect eggplant katsudon with charred cabbage chow chow, sweetbread teriyaki, duck leg ramen, and an okonomiyaki pancake with shaved Benton’s ham, mayonnaise and smoked tobiko roe.
From New York Times ● Dec. 4, 2018
“If that chow chow flicks her fluffy fur one more time, I swear it’s going to fly off.”
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
It’s unlikely Thomas Heyward of South Carolina ever ate blackened shrimp, pimento cheese and green tomato chow-chow together, but guess what?
From Washington Post ● Jun. 16, 2016
When ready to serve add six hard-boiled eggs chopped, and one pint bottle of pickles or chow-chow.
From The International Jewish Cook Book 1600 Recipes According to the Jewish Dietary Laws with the Rules for Kashering; the Favorite Recipes of America, Austria, Germany, Russia, France, Poland, Roumania, Etc., Etc. by Greenbaum, Florence Kreisler
"This sounds to me as if it were going to be a chow-chow party," grinned Stacy.
From The Pony Rider Boys in the Grand Canyon Or, The Mystery of Bright Angel Gulch by Patchin, Frank Gee
Cucumbers, small onions, green tomatoes, cauliflower, tiny string beans, red peppers, mustard, vinegar, cauldrons, boiling, seething fumes, spicy mists, pungent odors, bottles, jars, labels, chow-chow, picalilli, smarting tongue, burning palate, inflamed oesophagus, disordered stomach, enteritis.
From Ptomaine Street by Wells, Carolyn
I shot one of them, to the great delight of our coolie, who pronounced it No. 1 good chow-chow; but Charley and I were much more pleased at the sight of several English snipe.
From St. Nicholas, Vol. 5, No. 4, February 1878 by Various
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
