—used to express strong feeling (such as pleasure or surprise)
wowed; wowing; wows
: to excite to enthusiastic admiration or approval
a performance that wowed the critics
: a distortion in reproduced sound consisting of a slow rise and fall of pitch caused by speed variation in the reproducing system
Examples of wow in a Sentence
Verb
Her performance wowed the critics.
Recent Examples on the Web
James Grebey, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
Listen now to hear more about this month’s bake that is destined to wow!
—Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Jan. 2026
Brennan Kilbane, Allure, 15 Jan. 2026
Garatti jewelry upped the wow-factor.
—Jackie Fields, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
Jackie Fields, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
For her second round of hosting duties, comedian Nikki Glaser glowed in a bubblegum pink Zuhair Murad dress while presenters Ayo Edebiri, Charli XCX, and Pamela Anderson wowed in head-turning gowns that turned traditional red carpet dressing on its head.
—Kevin Huynh, InStyle, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wow
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Interjection
That Godzilla, an icon that’s approaching three-quarters of a century old and who has played basically every role in every media, still has the ability to shock and wow like this is a testament to Shin Godzilla.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
Listen now to hear more about this month’s bake that is destined to wow!
—Bon Appétit, Bon Appetit Magazine, 9 Jan. 2026
Noun
Always look for consistent lighting and positioning in these transformation photos, because the wow factor can be misleading.
—Brennan Kilbane, Allure, 15 Jan. 2026
Garatti jewelry upped the wow-factor.
—Jackie Fields, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
Verb
Only Murders in the Building nominee Selena Gomez wowed in a custom velvet bustier Chanel dress embellished with white flowers made of feathers, silk chiffon and silk organza that took 323 hours to make while on a date night with husband Benny Blanco.
—Jackie Fields, PEOPLE, 12 Jan. 2026
For her second round of hosting duties, comedian Nikki Glaser glowed in a bubblegum pink Zuhair Murad dress while presenters Ayo Edebiri, Charli XCX, and Pamela Anderson wowed in head-turning gowns that turned traditional red carpet dressing on its head.
—Kevin Huynh, InStyle, 11 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for wow
Cite this Entry
“Wow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wow. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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