Showing results for "chow"

• a variation of Chou.

Jump To:

• chow
  chow

  noun

  food, especially hearty dishes or a meal.
• Chow
  Chow

  noun

  a contemptuous term used to refer to a Chinese person.

chow

¹ American  

[chau] / tʃaʊ /

noun

1. food, especially hearty dishes or a meal.

---

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  

[chau] / tʃaʊ /

noun

(often initial capital letter)

1. chow chow.

---

Chow ³ American  

[chau] / tʃaʊ /

noun

Australian Disparaging and Offensive.

1. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Chinese person.

---

chow British  

/ tʃaʊ /

noun

1. informal food

2. short for chow-chow

---

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

See Examples For:

chow Chow

“I know what months at sea does to a person even when the ship has hot chow and working plumbing,” Roland said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Artificial intelligence may have already taken a bite out of software this year, but a profit warning from IBM indicates that it’s hardware’s turn to chow down.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

Over in the canteen, Syrian and African musicians chow down with Posdnuos from De La Soul and sitar legend Anoushka Shankar.

From BBC ● Jun. 21, 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

We played checkers until it was time for chow, the same way we had the day before.

From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers

This year’s event, its 15th edition, will honor artist Vija Celmins and filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, and be co-hosted by Eva Chow and Leonardo DiCaprio.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

DBS economists Taimur Baig and Nathan Chow expect Malaysia’s economy to have grown 5.0% in the third quarter, supported by export-oriented manufacturing as demand for AI-related electronics remains strong.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Labour supporter Stanley Chow, who created the image for Burnham's 2021 mayoral campaign in Greater Manchester, has claimed the party did not ask for permission to use the image.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Chow thinks Tenaga absorption of 120 million ringgit-150 million ringgit in fuel-adjustment charges to be a one-off cost, though the precedent could weigh on sentiment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

At the bottom of the article, a single sentence caught Mrs. Richardson’s eye: “Ms. Chow had been informed of her daughter’s whereabouts by a coworker at Lucky Palace, a Chinese restaurant on Warrensville Road.”

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---