meow
Americannoun
-
meows
plural
-
the characteristic sound a cat makes.
-
a spiteful or catty remark.
verb (used without object)
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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
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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:
They may meow to ask for food, demand attention, or even "complain."
From Science Daily ● Feb. 11, 2026
He would eat and then meow to leave.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2025
"She's super tiny, her breath smells so bad, and she doesn't have a meow," the singer dotes.
From BBC ● Jan. 19, 2025
What is the meaning of a cat’s meow that grows louder and louder?
From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
“Well, I could just meow from time to time. No one would know.”
From "Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus" by Dusti Bowling
While both meows and purrs contained individual traits, purrs were far more reliable.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 11, 2026
The study also suggested that a cat’s meows and other vocalizations are greatly misinterpreted and that people should consider both vocal and visual cues to try to determine what’s going on with their pets.
From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2024
Then, too soon after dawn, her demeanor abruptly changes: She bites my hands, legs, and neck, and meows in my face with a force that can only be described as belligerent.
From Slate ● Nov. 13, 2023
Household cats are quite vocal to their human companions, using different meows to communicate different messages.
From Salon ● Aug. 11, 2023
We were greeted by a chorus of barks and meows from the patients scattered throughout the waiting area.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
Estuardo Mazariegos, who is running to replace Curren Price in a South L.A. district, meowed throughout the game, as he was playing a purple-striped humanoid cat named “Nine Lives E.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2026
“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
Throughout the summer, it stretched awake in the morning, meowed at passersby during rush hour and curled into a sleepy ball after midnight.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 3, 2021
Updike introduced the character of a cat that both meowed and talked, a charming role that Schuller assigned to a high soprano.
From New York Times ● Apr. 9, 2021
Cats meowed and darted out of our way.
From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn
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
"People pay most attention to meowing because cats mainly use these vocalizations toward us," explains the study's first author, Danilo Russo.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 11, 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
The laidback kitty can usually be found meowing orders or napping on the job in the boat's cockpit.
From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2023
One morning my brother and I, while playing in the rear of our flat, found a stray kitten that set up a loud, persistent meowing.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
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.
