Jump To:

• wow
  wow

  interjection

  (an exclamation of surprise, wonder, pleasure, or the like).
• WOW
  WOW

  abbreviation

  waiting on weather: used esp in the oil industry

wow

¹ American  

[wou] / waʊ /

interjection

1. (an exclamation of surprise, wonder, pleasure, or the like).

   Wow! Look at that!

---

verb (used with object)

1. to gain an enthusiastic response from; thrill.

noun

1. an extraordinary success.

   His act is a real wow.

2. excitement, interest, great pleasure, or the like.

   a car that will add some wow to your life.

wow ² American  

[wou] / waʊ /

noun

1. Audio. a slow wavering of pitch in sound recording or reproducing equipment caused by uneven speed of the turntable or the tape.

2. Scot. and North England Dialect. a howl, wail, bark, whine, or mew.

---

verb (used without object)

1. Scot. and North England Dialect. to howl, wail, bark, whine, or mew.

wow ¹ British  

/ waʊ /

interjection

1. an exclamation of admiration, amazement, etc

---

noun

1. slang a person or thing that is amazingly successful, attractive, etc

verb

1. slang (tr) to arouse great enthusiasm in

WOW ² British  

abbreviation

1. waiting on weather: used esp in the oil industry

---

wow ³ British  

/ waʊ, wəʊ /

noun

1. a slow variation or distortion in pitch that occurs at very low audio frequencies in sound-reproducing systems, such as a record player, usually due to variation in speed of the turntable, etc See also flutter

---

Etymology

Origin of wow¹

1890–95; perhaps identical with Scots wow! exclamation of surprise or admiration

Origin of wow²

1800–10 wow ² for defs. 2, 3; 1930–35 wow ² for def. 1; imitative; the audio term is probably an independent formation

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wow WOW

Germany's Allianz Arena also poked fun at the mistake, writing on Instagram: "Oh wow, we didn't have that on our bingo card!"

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

“People said, ‘Oh, wow, $100 hot dog,’ ” said Keith Glickman, managing partner of Golden Goat Caviar, the company behind the Golden Glizzy.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

“I have these beautiful videos of her when she was 10. I was just watching them 30 minutes ago and was like, oh wow, it feels like yesterday.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026

They might also wow investors by raising their own expectations for coming quarters, or even for several years.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026

I’m not an idiot, but wow: I’d love to believe him.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

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

Stadium-linked businesses are backing a proposal that would roll back or eliminate the city’s billboard program and end its exclusive agreement with WOW.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

You’ll have to hurriedly drill down to the Drive Modes menu and find the WOW icon, which you tap to engage full power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

WOW, that came out way wacker than I intended.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

Related Words

• charm
• entertain