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• 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  

[wau] / waʊ /

interjection

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

   Wow! Look at that!

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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  

[wau] / 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.

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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

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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

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wow ³ British  

/ waʊ /

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

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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

"After two weeks, wow, I felt joy back in life."

From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026

“I’m glad they’re doing it, but that also says, ‘Oh, wow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

“Jerry just needs Mona to be better. And then he sees that maybe she could actually be kind of great. He cracks her open and he’s like, ‘Oh wow, who is this lady?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026

Marvell drops after so-so earnings fail to wow investors, while PayPal slumps after a report says its takeover may be off.

From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026

If I didn’t wow them, the theater would be completely empty after intermission, and my opera career would’ve ended before it began.

From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman

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

In a February Instagram post, WOW wrote: “You need Digital Spectaculars that match the energy. You need massive real estate. You need WOW,” alongside a video clip of a soccer ball bouncing through Inglewood streets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

Last year, those businesses sued after the Inglewood City Council approved an exclusive contract with WOW Media to build and operate more than 100 digital billboards along some of the city’s busiest streets.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

The stadium operators are pushing a measure to gut the city’s billboard program and the deal with WOW.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026

WOW, that came out way wacker than I intended.

From "Odd One Out" by Nic Stone

Related Words

• charm
• entertain