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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  

[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

See Examples For:

chow Chow

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

When the snake emerges, it should find enough mice to chow down on.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 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

Finally, V chow was called, and Smith and I each pulled a brake lever, releasing our respective sides.

From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover

On Friday Chow Hang-tung was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison; Lee Cheuk-yan to seven years; and former Legislative councillor Albert Ho to five years and two months.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026

Speaking to the BBC before her arrest in 2022, Chow said she was "prepared to be arrested"

From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026

Lee Cheuk-yan, 69, Chow Hang-tung, 41, and Albert Ho, 74 were leaders of the now-defunct Hong Kong Alliance, and have been behind bars since they were charged in 2021.

From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026

Alan Chikin Chow, behind the scripted YouTube high school drama series “Alan’s Universe,” moved his 13-person operation into a 10,000-square-foot Burbank facility in 2024 after outgrowing his Koreatown apartment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Footage of Bebe Chow holding a picture of May Ling at one month old, pleading for her baby back.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng