woo

verb

\ ˈwü

wooed; wooing; woos

Definition of woo

transitive verb

1 : to sue for the affection of and usually marriage with : court

2 : to solicit or entreat especially with importunity woo new customers

3 : to seek to gain or bring about

intransitive verb

: to court a woman

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Examples of woo in a Sentence

The store had a sale in an effort to woo new customers. The company must find creative ways to woo new employees.

Recent Examples on the Web

Inslee was the chief cheerleader of the largest corporate tax break in U.S. history, $8.7 billion to woo Boeing’s 777 plant here. — Danny Westneat, The Seattle Times, "If Jay Inslee runs for president, his biggest accomplishment may be his undoing," 28 Nov. 2018 Will reportedly tried very hard to woo Isabella, but was unsuccessful. — Kayleigh Roberts, Marie Claire, "Who Is Isabella Calthorpe? What You Need to Know About Prince William's Rumored Former Crush," 23 Sep. 2018 In 2004, a Suns contingent that included chairman Jerry Colangelo, new owner Robert Sarver, coach Mike D’Antoni, Amar'e Stoudemire and Rex Chapman flew to Dallas to woo free agent point guard Steve Nash. — Scott Bordow, azcentral, "Phoenix Suns: Five questions as NBA free agency approaches," 29 June 2018 The Proposal works like this: The dates compete in four rounds, from first impression to talent to beachwear, to woo a mysterious suitor or suitress (yes, that is a word the show made up). — Carol Motsinger, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati woman tries to get engaged to a stranger in an hour - and on television," 18 June 2018 Two Orlando hopefuls, sales trainer Chris and attorney Nick, continue in the contest to woo Becca Kufrin. — Hal Boedeker, OrlandoSentinel.com, "'Hannity' was No. 1 Monday program," 12 June 2018 Democratic and Republican presidents have used the White House as a way to woo wavering legislators, reward major donors and impress foreign diplomats. — Chris Cillizza, CNN, "4 takeaways on Donald Trump's absolutely appalling statement on the Eagles' White House visit," 4 June 2018 Conventionally, Bollywood leading ladies sought to woo heroes and audiences with their beauty and virtue. — Deepanjana Pal, The Atlantic, "How Bollywood's Sridevi Should Be Remembered," 1 Mar. 2018 The prince has presented himself as a reformer intent on opening up the kingdom’s economy and culture, and has used that image to try to influence White House policy in the region and to woo Western investors to help diversify the Saudi economy. — David Botti, The Seattle Times, "Suspects in Khashoggi case had ties to Saudi crown prince," 16 Oct. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'woo.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

14 Jan 2019

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Time Traveler for woo

The first known use of woo was before the 12th century

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More Definitions for woo

woo

verb

English Language Learners Definition of woo

: to try to make (someone) love you : to try to have a romantic relationship with (someone)

: to try to attract (someone, such as a customer, voter, worker, etc.) : to attempt to persuade (someone) to buy something from you, vote for you, work for you, etc.

See the full definition for woo in the English Language Learners Dictionary

woo

verb

\ ˈwü

wooed; wooing