wo
noun
an archaic spelling of woe.
wo
1 American
[woh]
/ woʊ /
noun
-
wos
plural
WO
2
American
Or
W.O.
-
wait order.
-
War Office.
-
Warrant Officer.
w/o
3
American
abbreviation
WO
1
British
abbreviation
-
War Office
-
Warrant Officer
-
wireless operator
w/o
2
British
abbreviation
-
without
-
written off
wo
3
British
/ wəʊ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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:
First noted at a World Cup match 18 years ago in France, the practice is known as “Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu” — a departing bird does not muddy the water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 22, 2026
"This method doesn't just give us a snapshot," said Professor Lucien Weiss from Polytechnique Montréal, wo co-led the research.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 24, 2025
The cyber criminals claim to have the private information of 20 million people wo signed up to Co-op's membership scheme, but the firm would not confirm that number.
From BBC ● May 2, 2025
Of their six penalties, two were for delay of game wo for delay of game after knocking pucks into the stands, and two more for having too many men on the ice.
From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024
A few elaborate hand wo ven rugs fell onto the dirt.
From "Healer of the Water Monster" by Brian Young
Wolbachia's prophage WO genes code for proteins that interfere with normal development of sperm cells.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 7, 2024
WO Halford left school at 16 and worked as a lifeguard at Port Stanley's swimming pool to save money to pay for a flight to Britain.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2022
WO Halford concluded: "Speaking as a Falkland Islander, the veterans will never be forgotten for what they did for us as a community in 1982 - we will be forever grateful."
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2022
Photograph taken with a WO FLT 132 refractor and QSI583wsg camera with 0.8x reducer/flattener.
From Forbes ● Jan. 9, 2015
WO short chapters, one describing the life of an Ant-lion, and the other the habits of a tame Toad, were added to the second edition, which was in other respects a reproduction of the first.
From Wild Nature Won By Kindness by Elizabeth Brightwen
Tweeting this month, he pressed what he called a conspiracy theory: “twitter unbanned all of us cuz their engagement was tanking w/o us.”
From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2023
“As one of the original organizing partners on “We Are the World,” w/o Ken’s expertise & specific skill set, we may never have made the enormous global impact that we did,” Jones tweeted.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 17, 2021
“A lot of countries won’t let ppl work w/o the vaccine. I’d def recommend they get the vaccine. They have to feed their families,” the rapper wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2021
“I can say this w/o being a flag,” he told Feighan once.
From The Verge ● Aug. 10, 2021
To complain that there is a problem w/o pointing out the problem has a rich and powerful vocabulary I do not feel is appropriate for this occasion.
From A Brief History of the Internet by Michael Hart
“Well, you see it wos me, and single-handed. Never a soul in it but my own self and Mr. Jaggers.”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
There was some Yankee calvary passed here last week—they asked me if there wos ony rebels scoutin round here lately.
From The Iron Furnace Slavery and Secession by John H. Aughey
I never know’d what it wos all about.”
From Dickens As an Educator by James L. (James Laughlin) Hughes
Tho’ faded in splender, its grateness wos then, Knawn to its foemen as Red Lion’s den; ’Neath its armorial sheeld, an’ hoary oud wall, I now see Rebekka o’ Riddlesden Hall.
From Random Rhymes and Rambles by William Aldis Wright
"Ober, mein Gott, wos is der mer?" he roared.
From Comrade Yetta by Albert Edwards
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.
