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.

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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

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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

There’s wah-wah guitar in “Grease” and a quasi-reggae breakdown in “Road Runner,” and the LP closes with an unexpected cover of 4 Non Blondes’ early-’90s hippie-grunge hit “What’s Up?”

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2022

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

They say wah-wah distinctly, and scream with rage like children, but have none of the meaningless chatter of monkeys.

From The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither by Bird, Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy)