meow
Americannoun
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meows
plural
-
the characteristic sound a cat makes.
-
a spiteful or catty remark.
verb (used without object)
-
meows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
meowed,
past participle, past
-
meowing
present participle
-
to make the sound of a cat.
-
to make a spiteful or catty remark.
verb
interjection
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
meowsimple
-
meowssimple
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have meowedperfect
-
has meowedperfect
-
am meowingprogressive
-
are meowingprogressive
-
is meowingprogressive
-
have been meowingperfect progressive
-
has been meowingperfect progressive
Past
-
meowedsimple
-
had meowedperfect
-
was meowingprogressive
-
were meowingprogressive
-
had been meowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of meow
First recorded in 1870–75; imitative
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
One European study indicated that cat owners often meow back at their pets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
And yet the key to understanding a cat’s meow will often rest specifically with that cat’s caretaker.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
“In that sense, the meow holds the legacy of thousands of years of evolutionary change in cats to adapt to life with humans.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
They may meow to ask for food, demand attention, or even "complain."
From Science Daily ● Feb. 11, 2026
As Will came around the corner, his cat Moxie, rose up from her favorite spot under the still-living hydrangea and stretched before greeting him with a soft meow and butting her head against his leg.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
Yet there are key differences in the meows.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
And while meows, of course, vary from cat to cat, Kristyn Vitale, a certified applied animal behaviorist and founder of the Michigan-based Maueyes Cat Science and Education center, says there are ways to decode them.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
Cats use meows in many different situations, especially when interacting with humans.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 11, 2026
This behavioral flexibility showed up clearly in the data, with meows displaying much greater variation within the same individual cat.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 11, 2026
I named him Mango because the sounds of his purrs and his wheezes and his meows are all various shades of yellow-orange, like a mango in different seasons.
From "A Mango-Shaped Space" by Wendy Mass
“Even his sister, from the safety of the screen door of the trailer, meowed for him.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2024
Upon seeing me, Momo meowed and then purred.
From New York Times ● Aug. 29, 2022
“I thought I heard a meow, and I thought my mind’s playing tricks on me so I hollered his name out, and he meowed again,” Gibson said.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 22, 2021
Ellis noticed that the cat meowed in twos, and the “MADtv” sketch came to mind, so the name stuck.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 14, 2021
You could see Mrs. Wheeler really perk up her ears at that, so Trotter meowed again.
From "Doing Time Online" by Jan Siebold
In the more upmarket north of Tehran, many residents appeared to have left, with the meowing of cats and birdsong replacing the usual din of traffic jams.
From Barron's ● Mar. 3, 2026
The low frequency portion of the whinny comes from vocal fold vibration, much like a person singing or a cat meowing.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026
A cat meowing for Hellmann’s mayonnaise, Peyton Manning chucking Bud Light beers to patrons in a bar and Kris Jenner stacking Oreo cookies.
From New York Times ● Feb. 6, 2024
“Our cat, Lily, started meowing and screaming, she was terrified and calling for us to help,” Shoshan told KTLA.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2023
I heard it land with a thud, saw it moments later, wobbling out from under the shadow of the house, meowing and stumbling forward.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
