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• dow
  dow

  verb (used without object)

  to be able.
• Dow
  Dow

  noun

  none the Dow or the Dow Jones a shortened form of Dow Jones average.
• Dow.
  Dow.

  abbreviation

  dowager.

dow

¹ American  

[dou, doh] / daʊ, doʊ /

verb (used without object)

Scot. and North England.

dowed, dought, dowing

1. to be able.

2. to thrive; prosper; do well.

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Dow ² American  

[dou] / daʊ /

noun

1. none the Dow or the Dow Jones a shortened form of Dow Jones average.

   The Dow is up nearly 8,400 points from its record low on February 12.

   The 7 percent drop in the Dow Jones was a harbinger of the precipice on which the economy was then hanging.

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Dow ³ American  

[dou] / daʊ /

noun

1. Charles Henry, 1851–1902, U.S. journalist and publisher: a founder of Dow Jones company.

2. Gerrard Dou, Gerard.

3. Herbert Henry, 1866–1930, U.S. chemist, inventor, and industrialist.

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Dow. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. dowager.

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Dow British  

/ daʊ, dɔu /

noun

1. See Dou

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Etymology

Origin of dow

before 900; Middle English dowen, doghen, Old English dugan to be worthy; cognate with German taugen; cf. doughty

Example Sentences

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 0.6%, S&P 500 trades up 0.7% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 1% higher.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

The international benchmark earlier hit its lowest settlement value since the first week of March of $85.80 a barrel, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 12, 2026

These forced timeouts applied to single stocks came after the so-called flash crash in 2010, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 700 points in eight minutes before recouping much of the loss.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq Composite all advanced 0.7% for the week.

From Barron's • Jun. 12, 2026

When a company puts out its earnings, one of the first things it does is hand it to the wires—Reuters, Dow Jones, and Bloomberg—for distribution.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman