wow

1 of 4

interjection

ˈwau̇ 

—used to express strong feeling (such as pleasure or surprise)

wow

2 of 4

noun (1)

: a striking success : hit

wow

3 of 4

verb

wowed; wowing; wows

transitive verb

: to excite to enthusiastic admiration or approval

a performance that wowed the critics

wow

4 of 4

noun (2)

: 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

Interjection

The second-round pick isn’t going to wow you with any single part of his game. — Mike Defabo, New York Times, 26 June 2026

For a pure comedy to open to $40M, that’s like, wow, the biggest since God knows when. — Anthony D'alessandro, Deadline, 3 June 2026

Noun

Nobody has a greater wow factor. — Tamerra Griffin, New York Times, 11 June 2026

Up the wow factor with a cropped trench that’s dialed up to 11. — Jake Henry Smith, Glamour, 1 Apr. 2026

Verb

Rudolph was wowed watching his good friend McKenna being welcomed to the stage. — John Wawrow, Chicago Tribune, 26 June 2026

Olandria Carthen wowed in a bright yellow gown with a plunging neckline and daring waist-high slit. — Catherine Santino, PEOPLE, 29 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (2)

imitative

First Known Use

Interjection

1513, in the meaning defined above

Noun (1)

1920, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1924, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1932, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for wow

• bao
• bough
• brow
• chow
• ciao
• clow
• cow
• dao
• dow
• frau
• hao
• hau