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
wooer
nounIndulge Your Inner Word Nerd
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 of woo from the Web
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The Wings are doing their best to woo Australian center Liz Cambage to return to the WNBA.
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Accidental haven Countries across the hemisphere are trying to woo U.S. retirees — and their pensions.
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This person said Bannon and Pruitt worked quietly to make sure Trump was hearing their side and touched base occasionally on political strategy to woo him. ‘
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When Kraft Heinz was wooing Unilever, it was widely believed that if the deal materialized, the European company's personal care segment would be spun off into a separate entity or sold.
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Amazon shares hit $1,000 for the first time, marking a new milestone for a company wooing investors by dominating online commerce and cloud computing.
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In the last couple of years, GOP majorities have mostly given up on debt ceiling fights; instead of trying to woo conservatives, Republican leaders have swallowed hard and asked Democrats to bail them out.
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Perenchio saw his opportunity and wooed two Latin American media moguls, Emilio Azcarraga Milmo of Mexico and Venezuelan Gustavo Cisneros, to join him.
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Many Internet startups must have wooed you in recent years.
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.
Origin and Etymology of woo
Middle English wowen, from Old English wōgian
WOO Defined for English Language Learners
woo
playDefinition of woo for English Language Learners
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: to try to make (someone) love you : to try to have a romantic relationship with (someone)
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: 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.
WOO Defined for Kids
woo
playDefinition of woo for Students
wooed
;wooing
1 : to try to gain the love of
2 : to try to gain The candidates wooed votes.
Learn More about woo
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See words that rhyme with woo Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for woo Spanish Central: Translation of woo Nglish: Translation of woo for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of woo for Arabic speakers
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