pow
interjection
(used to express or indicate a heavy blow or a loud, explosive noise.)
pow
1 American
[pou]
/ paʊ /
interjection
noun
-
a heavy blow or a loud, explosive noise.
-
the power of exciting.
adjective
pow
2
American
[poh, pou]
/ poʊ, paʊ /
noun
Scot. and North England.
POW
3
American
Or
P.O.W.
POW
1
British
abbreviation
pow
2
British
/ paʊ /
interjection
pow
3
British
/ paʊ /
noun
pow
4
British
/ paʊ /
noun
Etymology
Origin of pow1
An Americanism dating back to 1880–85
Origin of pow2
First recorded in 1715–25; variant of poll 1
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:
Bella Aguirre sat on a stool at Sticky Rice’s counter, finishing her meal of pad kra pow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 13, 2025
It will be followed by a public luncheon at the fairgrounds in Window Rock, a gospel celebration, a song and dance, a comedy show, a pow wow and an inaugural ball.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 9, 2023
"Toy soldiers, all that jazz. Even now I'm like, 'pow, pow, pow,' on the tour bus."
From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2022
And the first thing that happened, I threw a jab, pow, and my hands were still there.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 21, 2021
So I went to his gym, and every day I bounced around, pow pow pow, light as air on my feet, and then, boom! a hook you never saw coming.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
Navy and Coast Guard divers, led by the POW agency, tried to make their way into the Oryoku Maru’s forward cargo hold, where 600 enlisted men were kept.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
The POW swaps remain one of the few remaining areas of cooperation between the two sides, at war since Russia ordered troops into its neighbour in February 2022.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
Now the 25-year-old sits in a Ukrainian POW camp, his optimism replaced by barbed-wire fencing and snow-covered countryside that is unlike anything he grew up with in Senegal.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 11, 2026
The two sides failed to agree a ceasefire at the May meeting and two follow-ups in June and July, brokering only a major POW swap involving thousands of prisoners.
From Barron's ● Jan. 23, 2026
They sent him to the infamous Changi POW camp in Singapore.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
