woo
Americanverb (used with object)
-
woos,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wooed,
past participle, past
-
wooing
present participle
-
to seek the favor, affection, or love of, especially with a view to marriage.
-
to seek to win.
to woo fame.
- Synonyms:
- cultivate
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to invite (consequences, whether good or bad) by one's own action; court.
to woo one's own destruction.
-
to seek to persuade (a person, group, etc.), as to do something; solicit; importune.
verb (used without object)
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woos,
present (3rd person singular)
-
wooed,
past participle, past
-
wooing
present participle
-
to seek the affection or love of someone, usually a woman; court.
He was reminded of his youth when he went wooing.
-
to solicit favor or approval; entreat.
Further attempts to woo proved useless.
verb
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to seek the affection, favour, or love of (a woman) with a view to marriage
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(tr) to seek after zealously or hopefully
to woo fame
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(tr) to bring upon oneself (good or evil results) by one's own action
-
(tr) to beg or importune (someone)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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woosimple
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woossimple
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have wooedperfect
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has wooedperfect
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am wooingprogressive
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are wooingprogressive
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is wooingprogressive
-
have been wooingperfect progressive
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has been wooingperfect progressive
Past
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wooedsimple
-
had wooedperfect
-
was wooingprogressive
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were wooingprogressive
-
had been wooingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of woo
First recorded before 1050; Middle English wowe, Old English wōgian; ultimate origin uncertain
Explanation
When you woo someone, you are being charming because you think that it will make them love you more. You want to win their heart, so you woo them, you flirty dog you. Poetry is a great way to woo someone, because who could resist such beautiful words? Wooing requires a romantic heart and a lot of focused attention on the person you desire. But wooing isn’t always just done for love, and you can woo someone because you want their support, like when a rock band woos a record label to release their album, or wooing your grandmother because you need to borrow some money.
Vocabulary lists containing woo
"Romeo and Juliet" by William Shakespeare, Act III
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The Balcony Scene from "Romeo and Juliet"
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Aretha Franklin (1942 - 2018) Tribute List
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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:
At the air show, makers of everything from passenger planes to military drones show off their hardware to woo prospective customers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
Not in my favor: I cannot abide hippie culture, bristle at the slightest whiff of woo woo and balk reflexively at the phrase “loving kindness,” which immediately calls to mind the worst person I know.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
The top candidates for California governor crisscrossed the state Friday, all venturing to friendly political territory to woo voters and undermine their rivals as the June 2 primary election fast approaches.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Already, Japan has offered nudges like expanding tax-exempt investment accounts to woo some of the $7 trillion, or half of Japanese households’ wealth, that has been parked in cash into equities.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
“Have any idea what you’ll use to woo us?”
From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss
Insisting on both the singularity of Gaudí’s vision and the glories of artistic collaboration, the Sagrada Família woos believer and nonbeliever alike.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
It’s agnostic about whether it woos you with image-maker Nano Banana or a better way to search through your Google Drive.
From Slate ● Feb. 10, 2026
Silk diapers are now a thing, as Pampers woos shoppers ready to pay more for premium products.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 4, 2026
After a whirlwind two episodes falling for a man named Earl, who woos Beador with his open-hearted sensitivity surrounding his wife’s death after two horrible battles with cancer, the cracks start to show.
From Salon ● May 5, 2025
My father's viola does not scream; it pleads, it woos.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
So-called quant firms, which use sophisticated mathematical models to come up with trades, have for years wooed top young talent with lucrative compensation that big banks struggle to match.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Perry wooed Boeing’s then-CEO Phil Condit, but the aircraft manufacturer chose Chicago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
But the winner came from Eustáquio, the son of Portuguese parents who Herdman wooed away from the Portuguese U-21 team in 2019.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
That first saga of Woody versus Buzz was also a story of old versus new, teaching kids that they don’t always have to be wooed by the hottest toy on the market.
From Salon ● Jun. 21, 2026
Her father, the river-god Peneus, was greatly tried because she refused all the handsome and eligible young men who wooed her.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Gilbert persuaded officials of his plan to revive the city: Instead of wooing office tenants, it would mean attracting young, educated residents with money to spend.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
Platner doesn’t seem to be wooing many registered Republicans, either: Just 7 percent of poll participants said they’d support him.
From Slate ● Jul. 8, 2026
Instead of wooing my new date with a super swanky night on the town, I had the opportunity to connect with him in a real way.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Politics is about persuasion, seduction even, and prime ministers seem to have forgotten this is an almost constant process of wooing voters, MPs and civil servants to keep them driving your agenda forward.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
“I’ve learned my lesson. No more wooing rich widows for me! No more crackpot schemes about ostrich racing! I’ll stick to good honest ballooning from now on.”
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
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.
