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

Wander from the creamy pastels of a Venetian palazzo into a sumptuous, boudoir-like interior, and then to a bustling and bawdy room celebrating Casanova’s cunning: gambling, prognosticating, and wooing nuns. — Cate Mcquaid, BostonGlobe.com, "MFA’s ‘Casanova’ a voluptuous look at a notorious voluptuary," 6 July 2018 Or maybe Deep Silver is just more concerned about wooing an American audience first. — Hayden Dingman, PCWorld, "Metro Exodus is skipping Steam for the Epic Games Store, and passing the savings on to you," 28 Jan. 2019 After wooing the Queen City in April at the Homecoming music festival, Dessner and Bon Iver's Justin Vernon will release their debut album as Big Red Machine Aug. 31. — Carrie Blackmore Smith, Cincinnati.com, "A different kind of Big Red Machine is back," 13 July 2018 While elaborate acts of wooing are all fine and good, sometimes, the best way to connect with someone is cuddled on the couch. — refinery29.com, "The Perfect Date Night (Or Netflix & Chill) Movies," 2 July 2018 Harley chose Kansas City for the facility, which opened in 1998, after receiving government assistance and a lot of wooing from officials including then-mayor and now U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. — Mark Davis, kansascity, "Harley-Davidson shutdown triggers 207 layoffs at another Kansas City operation," 22 June 2018 Last: 5 Stats: 10.0 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 33% FG There’s some talk that given the possibility of wooing a veteran big in free agency, the Mavericks have more interest in taking a perimeter player here if Bagley and Jackson are off the board. — Jeremy Woo, SI.com, "2018 NBA Mock Draft 10.0: Breaking Down Picks, Prospects and Possibilities as Draft Approaches," 19 June 2018 Their goal in wooing the 70-year-old West Virginian Democrat? — Washington Post, "The Health 202: The Trump administration has given Democrats a generous political gift," 14 June 2018 The Greater Phoenix Economic Council has openly expressed a goal of wooing employers from high-tax states and cities — specifically, Seattle, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay Area. — Russ Wiles, azcentral, "Amazon continues Arizona expansion by moving Seattle jobs to Phoenix," 30 May 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

22 Apr 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

old-fashioned : 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