wah-wah

American  

[wah-wah] / ˈwɑˌwɑ /

Or wa-wa

adjective

1. producing a muted, bawling sound like that of a trumpet with the hand moved momentarily over the bell.

   a wah-wah effect on a synthesizer; a guitar with a wah-wah pedal.

---

noun

1. a sound or effect like the muted sound of a trumpet, especially in music.

2. an electronic device or attachment to produce such a sound, often used with an electric guitar.

wah-wah British  

/ ˈwɑːˌwɑː /

noun

1. the sound made by a trumpet, cornet, etc, when the bell is alternately covered and uncovered: much used in jazz

2. an electronic attachment for an electric guitar, etc, that simulates this effect

---

Etymology

Origin of wah-wah

First recorded in 1925–30; imitative

Example Sentences

“Stay on That” is one of the slinkier numbers on the album, with rapidly strummed guitars and a wah-wah squawk that recalls Isaac Hayes’s “Theme From Shaft.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Marinated wedges of heirloom tomatoes have a pumped-up, distorted flavor, like tomatoes run through a wah-wah pedal.

From New York Times • Sep. 28, 2021

A 19-year-old Stevie Wonder performs “Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day” and takes a blistering clavinet solo through a wah-wah pedal, a preview of what would soon become one of the signature sounds of Wonder’s 1970s reign.

From Slate • Jul. 2, 2021

And his use of the wah-wah pedal, an electronic device popularized by rock guitarists such as Jimi Hendrix, only enhanced its plaintive quality.

From Washington Post • Jun. 16, 2020

A troop of long-armed wah-wah monkeys were scolding and whistling within its dense foliage with surprising intensity.

From Tales of the Malayan Coast From Penang to the Philippines by Wildman, Rounsevelle