phew

[ fyoo, pfyoo, whyoo ]

interjection

1. (used as an exclamation to express disgust, exhaustion, surprise, impatience, relief, etc.):

   Phew, it's hot!

phew

/ fjuː /

interjection

1. an exclamation of relief, surprise, disbelief, weariness, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of phew¹

First recorded in 1595–1605

Example Sentences

Most readers probably got no further than that: Phew, democracy saved and all!

From Salon

"You don't know what you're going to get until you get in the edit suite and start reviewing the hours and hours of footage and finally you're like phew, we've got something that's great," Mr Gallagher added.

From BBC

If I went at him the first time, but then didn't go at him again the next time, I could tell he was thinking, "Phew, thank God for that."

From BBC

Lindsay ended up eliminating him on the sixth episode, and we would say "phew!" to that, except for that being four episodes after the world found out she was being courted by a bigot.

From Salon

Finally, “everything went well. Yes, I won’t hide that at the end of the day, there is a big ‘Phew’ of relief.”

From Washington Times

Related Words

• cry
• exclamation
• expletive
• insertion
• interpolation
• interposition
• shout