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

The nine constants paid a visit to the veteran entertainer, known to his fans as Mr. Las Vegas, and his wife, for some advice on wooing the ladies with song. — Billboard Staff, Billboard, "Wayne Newton Teaches the Men How to Serenade With 'Danke Schoen' on 'The Bachelorette': Watch," 26 June 2018 BiP, for those unfamiliar, is a version of The Bachelor where contestants aren't necessarily tied to wooing just one contestant. — Rebecca Farley, refinery29.com, "Here's Who We Know Is Going To Bachelor In Paradise," 21 June 2018 In the many opinions voiced over whether or not Philly should woo Amazon’s HQ2, one that compares the city to both Havana and Silicon Valley seems unique, over at the Philadelphia Citizen. — Aubrey Nagle, Philly.com, "Quakertown landmark rebuilds, Pa. closes in on primary day, Trump surprises with China move | Morning Newsletter," 14 May 2018 Talented educators must be wooed with competitive pay and benefits; textbooks must be regularly updated; curricula, revised. — Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "The Teachers’ Strikes Have Exposed the GOP’s Achilles Heel," 5 Apr. 2018 Second, as my research shows, diaspora populations with stronger grievances against host states are more likely to be wooed by homelands’ outreach efforts. — Ayca Arkilic, Washington Post, "How Turkey’s outreach to its diaspora is inflaming tensions with Europe," 26 Mar. 2018 That was by design, according to Abbott’s campaign, which among its efforts is trying to attract voters who may not vote in the GOP primary in a non-presidential year but could be wooed for the general election. — Peggy Fikac, San Antonio Express-News, "Gov. Abbott mail-in ballot twist means extra work for local election officials," 4 Feb. 2018 But moral clarity and style can only get a publication so far; they must be met at least part of the way by a reader willing to be wooed. — Daniel D'addario, Time, "The Post Is an Urgent Reminder of How Much Journalism Matters. Especially Now," 5 Jan. 2018 But in a congressional district that has famously been thorny to outsiders, trotting out the support of a mayor who doesn’t represent the voters you’re wooing can be a delicate balance. — Matt Stout, BostonGlobe.com, "If you see Marty Walsh in the Merrimack Valley anytime soon, here’s why," 2 July 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

9 Sep 2018

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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