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• wow
  wow

  interjection

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

  abbreviation

  waiting on weather: used esp in the oil industry

wow

¹ American  

[wou] / waʊ /

interjection

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

   Wow! Look at that!

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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 American  

[wou] / waʊ /

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.

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verb (used without object)

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

wow ¹ British  

/ waʊ /

interjection

1. an exclamation of admiration, amazement, etc

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noun

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

verb

1. slang (tr) to arouse great enthusiasm in

WOW ² British  

abbreviation

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

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wow ³ British  

/ 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

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Etymology

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

Explanation

When you wow your teacher, you get him really excited about your three paragraph essay. To wow is to impress. If you imagine saying, "Wow!" after tasting your friend's coconut cupcakes, you'll understand exactly what the verb wow means. When the cupcakes make you exclaim like that, they wow you. A wonderful movie will wow you, and your dad's juggling act might also wow you. The word wow is Scottish in origin, an amazed interjection from the 1500's. The verb form came along in American slang much later, in the 1920's.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wow WOW

They might also wow investors by raising their own expectations for coming quarters, or even for several years.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

AI suppliers say these arrangements give them unprecedented visibility into their future revenue, allowing them to wow investors with promises of bumper sales and profits ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

Those casts had their moments, but wow, even at 15, we knew this first season back was awful and not funny.

From Salon ● Jul. 5, 2026

But Pelinka doesn’t have to swing for the fences every time; he doesn’t need to wow us now, he needs to have wowed us later.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026

“Oh wow, how do you get your hair to do that?”

From "How Dare the Sun Rise" by Sandra Uwiringiyimana

The business pushed to become a sports-viewing destination by adding in 40-foot screens called WOW Walls, which can be split into subscreens tuned to different channels.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

WOW Media is the main funder of the Inglewood Residents for Stadium Accountability committee.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

Stadium-linked businesses are backing a proposal that would roll back or eliminate the city’s billboard program and end its exclusive agreement with WOW.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

When asked about the effort, Krantz, the WOW CEO, did not directly confirm involvement but also did not deny it.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

WOW, that came out way wacker than I intended.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

Related Words

• charm
• entertain