an extraordinary success.
His act is a real wow.
excitement, interest, great pleasure, or the like.
a car that will add some wow to your life.
Audio. a slow wavering of pitch in sound recording or reproducing equipment caused by uneven speed of the turntable or the tape.
Scot. and North England Dialect. a howl, wail, bark, whine, or mew.
1890–95; perhaps identical with Scots wow! exclamation of surprise or admiration
1800–10 wow 2 for defs. 2, 3; 1930–35 wow 2 for def. 1; imitative; the audio term is probably an independent formation
When you wow your teacher, you get him really excited about your three paragraph essay. To wow is to impress. If you imagine saying, "Wow!" after tasting your friend's coconut cupcakes, you'll understand exactly what the verb wow means. When the cupcakes make you exclaim like that, they wow you. A wonderful movie will wow you, and your dad's juggling act might also wow you. The word wow is Scottish in origin, an amazed interjection from the 1500's. The verb form came along in American slang much later, in the 1920's.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But Pelinka doesn’t have to swing for the fences every time; he doesn’t need to wow us now, he needs to have wowed us later.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 28, 2026
They contributed to a new standard of elaborate, hours-long concerts with more emphasis on choreography, pyrotechnics, costume changes and technology to wow audiences.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Investors probably had their own wow moment after Ross’ fiscal first quarter, delivered in May.
From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026
It had the wow factor because walking in so high, I felt as if I could touch the clouds as this cavernous open-air bowl opened up in front of my eyes.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
It would sound like Xander saying the word wow.
From "A Rover's Story" by Jasmine Warga
The business pushed to become a sports-viewing destination by adding in 40-foot screens called WOW Walls, which can be split into subscreens tuned to different channels.
From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026
The proposed Inglewood Fair Share Admissions Tax Tier Reform and Cap Removal Initiative, funded by WOW media, would eliminate those caps and restructure how venues are taxed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
The city has not publicly endorsed or opposed the ballot proposals backed by WOW, and Mayor James Butts declined to comment on those initiatives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
WOW is bankrolling proposals to cap stadium parking fees and raise taxes on event tickets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
WOW, that came out way wacker than I intended.
From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone
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.
