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

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

To investigate, the team studied adult male rats fed either a standard chow diet or a rotating cafeteria diet made up of high-fat, high-sugar foods for seven and a half weeks.

From Science Daily • Oct. 21, 2025

Perhaps the most popular place to chow down is Tracy’s Crab Shack in Juneau.

From Salon • Jul. 20, 2025

Then he goes to the chow hall for breakfast and goes about his day, which he said doesn’t end until the last count at around 11 p.m.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2024

And I had to talk to Sam a lot: He was chronically tardy, in everything from leaving his cell at chow time to getting back in it after a meal.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover