woo
Americanverb (used with object)
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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)
-
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
-
to seek the affection, favour, or love of (a woman) with a view to marriage
-
(tr) to seek after zealously or hopefully
to woo fame
-
(tr) to bring upon oneself (good or evil results) by one's own action
-
(tr) to beg or importune (someone)
Other Word Forms
- unwooed adjective
- wooer noun
- wooing noun
- wooingly adverb
Etymology
Origin of woo
First recorded before 1050; Middle English wowe, Old English wōgian; ultimate origin uncertain
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.
He wooed his wife with poems during their long-distance courtship in the early 1980s and still writes her a love poem every day.
In wooing the White House, Moscow has talked up opportunities for joint ventures in the Arctic, which holds massive untapped energy resources, as well as for exploring Russia’s rare-earth metals deposits.
After nearly a year of wooing, tech scion David Ellison and his Skydance Media sign a deal with heiress Shari Redstone to buy her struggling media company, Paramount.
From Los Angeles Times
Yes: There are always buyers willing to pay a premium for a skybox or courtside seat, and stadiums are loading up on VIP accouterments to woo big wallets.
The United States could be a deciding factor if it were to help Taiwan woo back Honduras, he said.
From Barron's
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.
