chow mein

American  

[chau mayn] / ˌtʃaʊ ˈmeɪn /

noun

1. a Chinese-style dish of steamed or stir-fried vegetables, topped with shredded chicken, shrimp, etc., and served with fried noodles.

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chow mein British  

/ meɪn /

noun

1. a Chinese-American dish, consisting of mushrooms, meat, shrimps, etc, served with fried noodles

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Etymology

Origin of chow mein

1900–05, < Chinese chǎo fry + miàn noodles, or < cognate dial. forms

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chow mein

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

Let’s take chow mein – there are endless varieties of this.

From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2024

She also sells tostadas topped with chow mein, elote loco and rellenitos — plantains stuffed with refried black beans.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 23, 2023

His “CID salad” roams adjacent blocks with a sweet-side miso-sesame vinaigrette embracing bitter chicories and mandarin orange, with tangles of very thin, very crunchy fried chow mein joining in.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2023

My father is digging into the chow mein, which still sits in an oversize aluminum pan surrounded by little plastic packets of soy sauce.

From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan

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