Showing results for "cooing"

• present participle of coo.

cooing

American  

[koo-ing] / ˈku ɪŋ /

noun

1. an act or instance of uttering or imitating the soft murmuring sound characteristic of doves.

   Jim recognized the sound as the cooing of a pigeon, although some of us thought it was an owl.

2. the act of murmuring or talking fondly or admiringly.

   I’m no fan of fancy goodies—not for me the cooing over iced Halloween cupcakes topped with fondant pumpkins.

---

adjective

1. making the sound characteristic of doves.

   Since February, the lake has come alive again with a few pairs of mallards and a cooing eider duck.

2. murmuring or talking fondly or admiringly.

   Strolling on the boardwalk were cooing couples, briefcase-toting executives, and chattering children with their nannies.

Other Word Forms

• cooingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of cooing

First recorded in 1660–70; coo ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun senses; coo ¹ ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective senses

Example Sentences

There were gurgling, cooing, month-and-a-half old newborns in Brooklyn and Westchester who had never known the soul-emptying pain of a crushing Knicks defeat.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026

“Nah,” I thought, as I watched the cooing baby in my arms.

From Salon • Dec. 3, 2025

But Gadot gets the best number in a tepid batch, a villain’s anthem that welds together a half-dozen sneering, cooing, minor-key tempo shifts.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2025

You could hear them cooing inside the courtroom as they flipped through children's books.

From BBC • Feb. 19, 2025

The chimney pots on the roofs...and on some, the shadowing looming of pigeon cotes...sometimes, faintly heard, the sleepy cooing of pigeons...the twin spires of the Church, remotely brooding over the dark tenements ….

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

Related Words

• murmur