holy cow

interjectionSlang.

(used to express bewilderment, surprise, or astonishment.)

Origin of holy cow

First recorded in 1920–25

Words Nearby holy cow

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use holy cow in a sentence

I mean, they love you, but holy cow, I mean the texts … the texts.
Making a Killing With Jim Cramer | Eugene Robinson | February 1, 2021 | Ozy
It was like "holy cow, if we're winning those seats we're going to have quite a night."
The Last Blowout | The Daily Beast | October 31, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
Sarah Palin was what has to be called a “holy cow” story, to paraphrase Bob Woodward.
Phil Donahue Returns to TV (Tomorrow) | Miriam Datskovsky | November 10, 2008 | THE DAILY BEAST
The priest replied, "Your soul will go into the body of a holy cow."
Gospel Philosophy | J. H. Ward
For the sake of one of your precious eyelashes I would spit on the names of the gods and slaughter the holy cow.
The Ten-foot Chain | Achmed Abdullah

Other Idioms and Phrases with holy cow

holy cow

Also, holy mackerel or Moses or moly or smoke. An exclamation of surprise, astonishment, delight, or dismay, as in Holy cow, I forgot the wine, or Holy mackerel, you won! or Holy Moses, here comes the teacher! or Holy smoke, I didn't know you were here too. The oldest of these slangy expletives uses mackerel, dating from about 1800; the one with Moses dates from about 1850 and cow from about 1920. None has any literal significance, and moly is a neologism devised to rhyme with “holy” and possibly a euphemism for “Moses.”

Browse