an extraordinary success.
His act is a real wow.
excitement, interest, great pleasure, or the like.
a car that will add some wow to your life.
Audio. a slow wavering of pitch in sound recording or reproducing equipment caused by uneven speed of the turntable or the tape.
Scot. and North England Dialect. a howl, wail, bark, whine, or mew.
1890–95; perhaps identical with Scots wow! exclamation of surprise or admiration
1800–10 wow 2 for defs. 2, 3; 1930–35 wow 2 for def. 1; imitative; the audio term is probably an independent formation
When you wow your teacher, you get him really excited about your three paragraph essay. To wow is to impress. If you imagine saying, "Wow!" after tasting your friend's coconut cupcakes, you'll understand exactly what the verb wow means. When the cupcakes make you exclaim like that, they wow you. A wonderful movie will wow you, and your dad's juggling act might also wow you. The word wow is Scottish in origin, an amazed interjection from the 1500's. The verb form came along in American slang much later, in the 1920's.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The salt seasons the meat deeply, the acidity tenderizes it, and the garlic-and-dill flavor adds an herb-y depth for a subtle wow factor.
From Salon • May 28, 2026
And wow did they waltz right through that open door.
From Slate • May 23, 2026
“Oh wow, I actually learned right now that I really love roasting,” he remarked.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
“I was like, wow, it’s getting to the point where not taking away wrinkles is as distracting as if I got a weird pull or lift or whatever,” she said.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026
He just put himself out there, his heart exposed directly to the elements, and wow, I respected him for it.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
