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• 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.

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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  

[chau] / tʃaʊ /

noun

(often initial capital letter)

1. chow chow.

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Chow ³ American  

[chau] / 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. )

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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

In Kashgar, middle-aged Chinese men in cowboy hats descend from tour buses to chow down on grilled lamb skewers and pilaf.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026

When the animals could freely choose between standard chow and soybean oil, the OPA1-deficient mice consumed more fat and gained additional weight.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 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

Remove a chimpanzee from its mother, and it will still play with its friends and chow down on whatever you put in front of it.

From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer

In 2016, he co-founded Demosisto with Law and Agnes Chow, an activist who is now also in exile.

From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026

Wong became a household name during Hong Kong's 2014 protests, known as the Umbrella Movement, after he gave speeches alongside fellow student leaders Nathan Law and Alex Chow.

From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026

Two well-groomed dogs, a Chow Chow and a French bulldog, pose at her feet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

Manchester United fan Chow is well-known for his portraits of famous faces and he has previously created images of footballers, including Wayne Rooney, Edgar Davids and Ronaldinho.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 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

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