wow

UK: /ˈwaʊ/ US: /waʊ/ ,(wou)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

wow¹ /waʊ/   interj. 

1. Informal Terms (used to show surprise, wonder, or pleasure):
   Wow, what a beautiful sunset!

v. [~ + object]

2. Informal Terms to cause an enthusiastic response from;
   thrill:
   The rock band wowed the audience.

n. [countable]

3. Informal Terms an extraordinary success.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

wow¹  (wou), [Informal.]
interj. 

1. Informal Terms (an exclamation of surprise, wonder, pleasure, or the like):
   Wow! Look at that!

v.t. 

2. Informal Terms to gain an enthusiastic response from;
   thrill.

n. 

3. Informal Terms an extraordinary success:
   His act is a real wow.
4. Informal Terms excitement, interest, great pleasure, or the like:
   a car that will add some wow to your life.

• perh. identical with Scots wow! exclamation of surprise or admiration 1890–95

wow²  (wou), n. 

1. Sound Reproduction [Audio.] a slow wavering of pitch in sound recording or reproducing equipment caused by uneven speed of the turntable or the tape. Cf. flutter (def. 12).
2. Sound Reproduction, Scottish Terms [Scot. and North Eng. Dial.] a howl, wail, bark, whine, or mew.

v.i. 

3. Scottish Terms to howl, wail, bark, whine, or mew.

• 1800–10 for defs. 2–3; 1930–35 for def. 1; imitative; the audio term is probably an independent formation

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

wow / waʊ/ interjection

1. Also: wowsers / ˈwaʊzəz/ an exclamation of admiration, amazement, etc

noun

1. a person or thing that is amazingly successful, attractive, etc

verb

1. (transitive) to arouse great enthusiasm in

Etymology: 16th Century: originally Scottish, expressive of surprise, amazement, etc

wow / waʊ wəʊ/ noun

1. a slow variation or distortion in pitch that occurs at very low audio frequencies in sound-reproducing systems, such as a record player, usually due to variation in speed of the turntable, etc
   See also flutter14

Etymology: 20th Century: of imitative origin