Slang dictionary
abow
[ uh-bou ]
What does abow mean?
Abow is a slang term typically used to express shock or excitement. It is most commonly used on the social media platform TikTok.
The term abow is used generally to express strong feelings of shock, amazement, disbelief, excitement, or other similar emotions. It is used in this context similarly to more common interjections like wow or damn. Abow is most often used in writing, such as in texts or social media posts.
Abow most often appears on TikTok, where it is a very popular hashtag. As is the case with other popular hashtags, TikTok users will often tag their videos with #abow in an attempt to make a video go viral. The slang abow is rarely used anywhere else except to refer to TikTok videos using audio from the 2021 song “Throw It Back (Abow).”
Example: Someone keyed my car last night—abow!
Where does abow come from?
According to most sources, abow is a Swedish slang word that translates to “wow” or “damn” and is used to express strong emotions, especially surprise or amazement. The slang may also have Turkish or Arabic origins.
The word abow became popular on TikTok beginning in 2022 after the release of the 2021 song “Throw It Back (Abow)” by ShantiiP and TarioP, which uses abow frequently in the lyrics. This song was popular on TikTok, and many TikTok users used it in their own videos. Many social media users referred to the song itself as simply “abow.”
I hate the ABOW tiktok now… LMAO
— K SHIESTY (@kshiestym) January 27, 2022
that ABOW song on tiktok is stuck in my head but I can’t say it out loud
— d5🧃 (@dg5_5) January 8, 2022
My toddler keeps walking around the house saying “abow” thanks to tiktok 🤣
— ems (@emilyy__batess) January 18, 2022
Examples of abow
Who uses abow?
Abow is most often used on TikTok and is much less commonly used on other social media platforms. Outside of TikTok, the word abow is most often used to refer to the song “Throw It Back (Abow)” or to a TikTok video that includes it.
So incredibly bizarre that you are both repelled and fascinated by it at the same time!! Abow!!
— Mike Bahamas (@mike_bahamas) August 15, 2023
I HATE that song ABOW. Lmao like wth is that
— VenusianBaby💚 (@kaprecesun) July 10, 2022
what happened to abow
— Ty Montes (@montes_ty) July 29, 2023
Note
This is not meant to be a formal definition of abow like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of abow that will help our users expand their word mastery.