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• chow chow
  chow chow

  noun

  one of a Chinese breed of medium-sized dogs having a thick black, blue, red, or cream coat and a blue-black tongue.
• chow-chow
  chow-chow

  noun

  a Chinese mixed fruit preserve.

chow chow

¹ American  

[chou chou] / ˈtʃaʊ ˌtʃaʊ /

noun

(often initial capital letters)

1. one of a Chinese breed of medium-sized dogs having a thick black, blue, red, or cream coat and a blue-black tongue.

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chow-chow ² American  

[chou-chou] / ˈtʃaʊˌtʃaʊ /

noun

1. a Chinese mixed fruit preserve.

2. a relish of chopped mixed pickles in mustard sauce.

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chow-chow British  

noun

1. Often shortened to: chow.  a thick-coated breed of the spitz type of dog with a curled tail and a characteristic blue-black tongue; it came originally from China

2. a Chinese preserve of ginger, orange peel, etc in syrup

3. a mixed vegetable pickle

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Etymology

Origin of chow chow¹

1785–95; said to be < dialectal Chinese; compare Guangdong dial. gáu dog

Origin of chow-chow²

Borrowed into English from Chinese Pidgin English around 1785–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chow chow chow-chow

Kathryn, on the other hand, is filling up her days with a part-time position at the local mall’s J.Crew outlet and taking care of eight chow chow puppies she’s named after Maroon 5 songs.

From Salon ● May 17, 2025

Both are also closely related to dingoes, and slightly more distantly to other dogs of East Asian origin like the chow chow, Akita, and shiba inu.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 31, 2020

They are paired with green goddess dressing and glorious chow chow, a hot pickled vegetable relish with a preponderance of cauliflower.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 28, 2019

Expect eggplant katsudon with charred cabbage chow chow, sweetbread teriyaki, duck leg ramen, and an okonomiyaki pancake with shaved Benton’s ham, mayonnaise and smoked tobiko roe.

From New York Times ● Dec. 4, 2018

But the cinnamon chow chow that slunk into our house was listless and mewling.

From "Ungifted" by Gordon Korman

It’s unlikely Thomas Heyward of South Carolina ever ate blackened shrimp, pimento cheese and green tomato chow-chow together, but guess what?

From Washington Post ● Jun. 16, 2016

Set away for a week, boil over once, and, if too thick, thin with vinegar; bottle and seal as for chow-chow.

From Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information, 1889 by Barkham Burroughs

Cucumbers, small onions, green tomatoes, cauliflower, tiny string beans, red peppers, mustard, vinegar, cauldrons, boiling, seething fumes, spicy mists, pungent odors, bottles, jars, labels, chow-chow, picalilli, smarting tongue, burning palate, inflamed oesophagus, disordered stomach, enteritis.

From Ptomaine Street by Carolyn Wells

Our principal freight from Liverpool at that time consisted of crockery from the Staffordshire potteries, Manchester dry-goods, and iron and steel, and what were known as "chow-chow," or miscellaneous articles.

From My Life in Many States and in Foreign Lands Dictated in My Seventy-Fourth Year by George Francis Train

Pickles, chow-chow, horse-radish, cold-slaw, or celery salad are served with fried oysters, and may be used as a garnish or be served separately.

From The Century Cook Book by Mary Ronald