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)
-
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
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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woosimple
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woossimple
-
have wooedperfect
-
has wooedperfect
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am wooingprogressive
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are wooingprogressive
-
is wooingprogressive
-
have been wooingperfect progressive
-
has been wooingperfect progressive
Past
-
wooedsimple
-
had wooedperfect
-
was wooingprogressive
-
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:
The testosterone-fueled “Something About You” details attempts to woo back a lover following a fight.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
By slashing prices on some core items, Primark is likely hoping to woo shoppers with low-cost staples, in the same way that supermarkets attract customers with cheap milk and bananas, Berg says.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 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
Tailors, dressmakers, and merchants try to woo her with free gifts for her ladies, or offer pastries and champagne.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
Beijing leader woos developing countries as superpowers jockey for technology lead.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 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
In one sequence, Claude Bessy, a Paris Opera étoile, plays a model, wooed by her lover and eating a sandwich with the most royal disinterest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 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
Juan, who was a field worker and cook at a Chinese restaurant at the time, wooed and married Michelle, who was then a Lowe’s cashier, there after meeting in 2008.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 8, 2026
Where he first met and how he wooed the maiden he loved, Eurydice, we are not told, but it is clear that no maiden he wanted could have resisted the power of his song.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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
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
Flush with cash, the firms are also wooing the general public, insisting that artificial intelligence will be a force for good -- and not a destroyer of jobs or an existential threat for humanity.
From Barron's ● Apr. 25, 2026
As Hyllus, the son of Hercules and Dejanira, David Portillo was similarly impressive, his bright, easy tenor and excellent diction assets in his ardent filial devotion and wooing of Iole.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
Music and chatter flitted through the air, wooing him to sleep.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
