woo

play

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

The explicit aim is to give candidates an incentive to woo broad coalitions that cross party lines, rather than merely fire up hard-core partisans.

— The Economist, "Arnie lends some muscle to the campaign against gerrymandering," 22 July 2017
In early May, those ethical concerns were given new fuel when Kushner’s sister, Nicole Kushner Meyer, traveled to China to woo investors.

— caroline hallemann, Town & Country, "9 Things You Should Know About the Kushner Family," 21 July 2017
The government began erecting a sprawling campus in Yachay, a new science city 3 hours north of Quito, Ecuador’s capital, in Urcuquí province, and the nascent venture wooed overseas faculty with competitive salaries.

— emiliano rodríguez mega, Science | AAAS, "Plans for a research powerhouse in the Andes begin to unravel," 21 July 2017
But there were also many more small changes, apparently calibrated to woo particular lawmakers.

— margot sanger-katz, New York Times, "A Legislative Easter Egg Hunt in the Health Bill," 15 July 2017
Barrett believes one reason why proposals to restrict access to voter information have been routinely rejected by the legislature is that politicians and political parties see such data a valuable tools for candidates to contact and woo voters.

— gregory b. hladky, courant.com, "Trump Panel Push For Voting Data Could Lead To More Connecticut Voter Privacy Protections," 12 July 2017
Travellers is trying to woo customers with cheaper movie tickets, food discounts and free parking.

— ian c sayson, Bloomberg.com, "Manila Casino Aims to Win Back Trust, Expand After Fatal Fire," 5 July 2017
A Clermont County hotel-tax hike designed to woo an FC Cincinnati training facility to Batavia has survived a battle to remove it from the state budget.

— jeanne houck, Cincinnati.com, "Clermont hotel-tax budget battle over but bruises remain," 30 June 2017
From the late 1970s, the elder Mr. Xi was a senior official in Guangdong Province, next to Hong Kong, and wooed cross-border investment by backing new special economic zones.

— chris buckley, New York Times, "Struggle for Control Underlies Xi Jinping’s Visit to Hong Kong," 28 June 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), flirt (with), invite, court

Related Words

angle (for), fish (for); hunt, search, seek; provoke, tempt

WOO Defined for English Language Learners

woo

play

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.