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definitions

chow

1
[chou]Informal.
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noun

food, especially hearty dishes or a meal.

Verb Phrases

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.

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RELATED WORDS

mess, meal, eats, grub, victuals

Origin of chow

1
1855–60, Americanism; short for chow-chow

chow

2
[chou]

noun (often initial capital letter)

chow chow.

Origin of chow

2
short form

Chow

1
[chou; Chinese joh]

noun

Chou.

Chow

2
[chou]

noun Australian Disparaging and Offensive.

a contemptuous term used to refer to a Chinese person.

Origin of Chow

2
First recorded in 1870–75; special use of chow1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chow

British Dictionary definitions for chow

chow

noun

informal food
short for chow-chow (def. 1)
See also chow down
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for chow
n.

"food," 1856, American English (originally in California), from Chinese pidgin English chow-chow (1795) "food," reduplication of Chinese cha or tsa "mixed." The dog breed of the same name is from 1886, of unknown origin, but some suggest a link to the Chinese tendency to see dogs as edible.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper