woo

verb \ ˈwü \

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

noun

See woo defined for English-language learners

See woo defined for kids

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

Herro had been actively trying to woo other prospects to join him at UW for the ’18 class.

— jeff potrykus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Whitnall senior guard Tyler Herro, who committed to UW in '16, reopens recruitment," 17 Oct. 2017
Recently, Lack pulled an Arledge: wooing away Megyn Kelly from Fox News.

— sarah ellison, The Hive, "Megyn Kelly, Matt Lauer, and the Battle for the Future of NBC," 14 Oct. 2017
Saudi Arabia’s recent decision to allow women to drive means an entirely new market of car owners—and automakers are already trying to woo them.

— valentina zarya, Fortune, "Harvey Weinstein, Ivanka Trump, State Street: Broadsheet for October 5th," 6 Oct. 2017
Japan’s tiny Ainoshima island is a pussycat paradise, and its furry inhabitants are trying to woo the singer with a special invitation to visit during his October tour to the country.

— saryn chorney, PEOPLE.com, "WATCH: Japan's Tiny Cat Island Tries to Lure Ed Sheeran for VIP Visit," 11 Sep. 2017
Supermarkets increasingly need to woo shoppers to their stores.

— heather haddon, WSJ, "Grocers Imagine the Store of the Future," 15 Oct. 2017
In a pair of information campaigns that spanned 2010-2011 and 2015-2016, federal agencies that aim to spread America’s message abroad spent $59,541 in ads wooing Russian speakers, according for federal spending records.

— carl prine, sandiegouniontribune.com, "It's not just Moscow: American agencies use Facebook to woo Russians, too," 13 Oct. 2017
Miami's would have been a nostalgic decision if it had wooed and won Wade back right now.

— greg cote, miamiherald, "Don’t blame Wade for choosing Cavs, because we know he’ll end up right where he belongs," 28 Sep. 2017
More than a dozen cities and states have already publicly expressed their interest in wooing Amazon to town, with some using stunts aimed at making their bids stand out from the fray.

— michael corkery, New York Times, "While Amazon Plays the Field, Walmart Stays True to Arkansas," 15 Sep. 2017

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

woo Synonyms

Synonyms

ask (for), court, flirt (with), invite;

Related Words

angle (for), fish (for);

hunt, search, seek;

provoke, tempt;

Phrases

look for;

WOO Defined for English Language Learners

woo

verb

Definition of woo for English Language Learners

: 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.