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 chow¹

Short form

Origin of Chow¹

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

Example Sentences

Let the reindeer chow cool before serving — or packing.

From Salon

“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

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

Then, she dreams of dishes to the buoyant and ambient song, “Future Perfect” by Durutti Column and chows down to the energetic tune of “To Make You Happy” by Tommy McGee.

From Salon

He will “chow down” on applesauce at preschool parties.

From Los Angeles Times