coo
verb (used without object)
to utter or imitate the soft, murmuring sound characteristic of doves.
coo
1 American
[koo]
/ ku /
verb (used without object)
-
coos,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cooed,
past participle, past
-
cooing
present participle
-
to utter or imitate the soft, murmuring sound characteristic of doves.
-
to murmur or talk fondly or amorously.
verb (used with object)
-
coos,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cooed,
past participle, past
-
cooing
present participle
noun
-
coos
plural
coo
2
American
[koo]
/ ku /
interjection
British Slang.
Coo
3
American
[kaw-aw]
/ ˈkɔ ɔ /
noun
COO
4
American
coo
1
British
/ kuː /
verb
-
(intr) (of doves, pigeons, etc) to make a characteristic soft throaty call
-
(tr) to speak in a soft murmur
-
(intr) to murmur lovingly (esp in the phrase bill and coo )
noun
interjection
CoO
2
British
abbreviation
COO
3
British
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
coosimple
-
coossimple
-
have cooedperfect
-
has cooedperfect
-
am cooingprogressive
-
are cooingprogressive
-
is cooingprogressive
-
have been cooingperfect progressive
-
has been cooingperfect progressive
Past
-
cooedsimple
-
had cooedperfect
-
was cooingprogressive
-
were cooingprogressive
-
had been cooingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of coo1
First recorded in 1660–70; imitative
Origin of coo2
First recorded in 1910–15; origin uncertain
Explanation
A coo is the low, sweet sound that a bird makes, especially a dove or pigeon. If a dove builds a nest outside your open window, you'll be able to hear its coos every morning. There is a small, gray pigeon that's called a mourning dove because its coo is so sad sounding. When you hear a bird making this distinctive sound, you can also say that it coos — and if a person murmurs in a low, soft voice, you can say that she coos too. The word coo has been used since at least the late 1600s, and its origin is probably imitative, the word sounding very much like the sound it describes.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Surfing YouTube for throat whistlers, Saxon came across a former circus performer named Paul “The Birdman” Manalatos who had developed a signature coo.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2025
If at all possible, you should live in a place where you don't have to constantly be looking over your shoulder in fear while you coo at the baby.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2024
They coo and fuss over the infant, swap feeding and nappy-changing duties, and take turns to stay with him so one of them can get some sleep.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2023
With their bobbing heads, clumsy gaits and dull-sounding "coo" noises, pigeons are often mistaken for being downright stupid pests.
From Salon ● Jun. 11, 2023
I didn’t know human beings could coo, but that’s definitely what this girl does.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Thailand’s Komet Sukprasert was the silver medalist with bronze for Patrick Bren Coo of the Philippines.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 1, 2023
Police said they believed the single-vehicle crash had happened between 21:00 on Thursday and the early hours of Friday near the island's Coo Road.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2022
She wore a T-shirt at the hearing that read “It’s Coo To Be Kind” and said she had fond memories of giving the birds treats with her grandparents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 30, 2017
Alvin Stardust, the quiffed, leather-clad pop singer best known for 1970s hits such as My Coo Ca Choo, has died aged 72 after a short illness, his manager has said.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 23, 2014
“I’ve had Coo my whole life,” Ginny said.
From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar
After Solomon was named CEO of Goldman in 2018, Waldron was chosen as the firm’s president and COO.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026
But Ryanair COO Neal McMahon repeated his calls for Rolfe to be fired, accusing him of having again "failed UK travellers".
From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026
At an event on Tuesday, SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell said “we need more” capacity to reach the company’s targets.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026
But change is in the air, said Yang Qian, the COO of X Square Robot, which produces robots for use in homes and logistics.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
The COO, Mari, turns to Hideo and asks him something in Japanese.
From "Warcross" by Marie Lu
Cobalt monoxide, CoO, is prepared by heating the hydroxide or carbonate in a current of air, or by heating the oxide Co3O4 in a current of carbon dioxide.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 "Clervaux" to "Cockade" by Various
CoO, or smalt, gives blue; uranium oxide, green; a mixture of Au and Sn of uncertain composition, called the "purple of Cassius," gives purple.
From An Introduction to Chemical Science by Rufus Phillips Williams
PO4, it is decomposed into the metaphosphate of sodium, NaPO3, CoO + NaPO3 = CoNaPO4.
From The Elements of Blowpipe Analysis by Frederick Hutton Getman
Three characteristic oxides of cobalt are known, the monoxide, CoO, the sesquioxide, Co2O3, and tricobalt tetroxide, Co3O4; besides these there are probably oxides of composition CoO2, Co8O9, Co6O7 and Co4O5.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 "Clervaux" to "Cockade" by Various
In one of their most popular videos, the pair coos to the camera.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Grimes’ filtered coos and hushed vocals approximate cybernetic birdsong.
From Salon ● Nov. 7, 2025
It’s there when everybody coos at Han’s white cat making a surprise appearance — and even in how quickly they offer to lip-read and interpret Gladstone’s comments while she’s sorting out her mute button.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2025
“Daddy’s taking movies again,” coos Nicole, who met Simpson when she was 18, as she cuddles her infant child on the beach.
From Seattle Times ● May 31, 2024
"Your language," the mother scolds absently, and then, as if the words were an endearment, she coos them at her granddaughter, "your language."
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
“I throw my cellular device in the water,” she cooed blissfully in the LP’s strummy title track, “Can you reach me? No, you can’t.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2025
As she peeled one away and put forward the next, she cooed about the baby: so beautiful, so healthy.
From Slate ● May 2, 2025
"Look at the children. They're so cute," she cooed.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2024
He cooed back and started following me around,” Mr. Hartline, 66, said.
From New York Times ● Dec. 15, 2023
"Never mind," she cooed, looking into my eyes.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
One brother does the firing, the other waves goodbye, cooing, “We hope we can still be friends who never speak to each other.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Usually it plays out as a cute moment, the assembled gaggle cooing awwww at the exchange as the queried party answers far more effusively than they do for their daily adult nemeses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
Instead, I’d laugh, cooing for more lemon to revel in those strong sensations over and over again.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2025
"You have to think a lot before having a baby," Valentina Dottor admits when we meet on Fregona's main square, her 10-month-old daughter Diletta cooing in a pushchair.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2025
She heard the low, soft, rhythmic grunts of the females and cooing of the infants, the rumble of the males, with now and then a challenging bark.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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