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 chow²

Short form

Origin of Chow³

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

Explanation

Chow is food. You might offer to make your little sister her favorite chow for her birthday: macaroni and cheese with chocolate cake for dessert. The word chow is an informal way to say "food" or "meal." Someone happily gobbling tacos might say, "I just love Mexican chow," or your dad might open up a pizza delivery box and yell, "Time for chow, everybody!" Chow is an American English word that originated in California around 1856, from the Chinese pidgin English chow-chow, "food," which probably originated with the Chinese cha, "mixed."

Example Sentences

The researchers examined whether mice preferred foods like wheat, bread, and rice over standard chow, and how these choices affected body weight and energy use.

From Science Daily • Apr. 14, 2026

To tell that complicated story, Hethington depends on dishes like Guyanese chow mein and Trini-Chinese chicken.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

For restaurateur Will Guidara’s wife, chef and cookbook author Christina Tosi, Meghan packs her homemade reindeer chow in a tall jar adorned with a festive bow.

From Salon • Dec. 15, 2025

At some prisons, meals are shared in the chow hall.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2025

Inmates would carry bread back from chow, stuff it into the chain-link fence along the gallery, and watch from their cells as the birds came to feed.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover