different between whoa vs whoo
whoa
English
Alternative forms
- woah
- whoah
Etymology
Whoa (c. 1843) is a variant of woa (c. 1840), itself a variant of wo (c. 1787), from who (c. 1450), ultimately from Middle English ho, hoo (interjection), probably from Old Norse hó! (interjection, also, a shepherd's call). Compare German ho, Old French ho ! (“hold!, halt!”).
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /w??/, /???/
- (US) enPR: w?, hw?, IPA(key): /wo?/, /?o?/
- Rhymes: -??
- Homophone: woe (in accents with the wine-whine merger)
Interjection
whoa
- Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down.
- Whoa, Nelly!
- An expression of surprise.
- Whoa, are you serious?
- Used as a meaningless filler in song lyrics.
- 2003, "Weird Al" Yankovic, eBay (song)
- I am the type who is liable to snipe you
With two seconds left to go, whoa.
- I am the type who is liable to snipe you
- 2010, Bruce Springsteen, It's a Shame
- And oh whoa girl, it's a shame.
Oh whoa girl, it's a doggone shame.
- And oh whoa girl, it's a shame.
- 2003, "Weird Al" Yankovic, eBay (song)
Usage notes
An alternative spelling, woah (c. 1856), is common, but it is considered an error by some.
Antonyms
- (stop, said to a horse): giddyup, giddap
Derived terms
- whoa back
Translations
Verb
whoa (third-person singular simple present whoas, present participle whoaing, simple past and past participle whoaed)
- (transitive) To attempt to slow (an animal) by crying "whoa".
- 1926, Josephine Demott Robinson, The Circus Lady (page 38)
- He was whoaing the horses loudly, and they did seem to be going faster than usual—in fact, they were galloping.
- 1926, Josephine Demott Robinson, The Circus Lady (page 38)
References
- Whoa! Woah?! Whoah. How an old exclamation became the Internet’s most variously spelled word., Matthew J.X. Malady, Slate
Anagrams
- woah
whoa From the web:
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- what whoa mean in arabic
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whoo
English
Pronunciation
- enPR: wo?o, IPA(key): /wu?/
- Rhymes: -u?
- Homophones: woo (in accents with the wine-whine merger)
Interjection
whoo
- An expression of delight.
- The wailing cry of a ghost.
- The cry of an owl
Synonyms
- (expression of delight): wahoo, whoopee, yay, yippee
- (cry of an owl): tuwhit tuwhoo
Verb
whoo (third-person singular simple present whoos, present participle whooing, simple past and past participle whooed)
- To make a whoo sound, of delight, whistling, or of an owl etc.
- 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Part 6:
- "Upon my honour!" cried he, "there was never before such a beautiful thing in Nature or Art as you look, 'Cousin' Tess ('Cousin' had a faint ring of mockery). I have been watching you from over the wall—sitting like Im-patience on a monument, and pouting up that pretty red mouth to whistling shape, and whooing and whooing, and privately swearing, and never being able to produce a note. Why, you are quite cross because you can't do it."
- 1891, Thomas Hardy, Tess of the d'Urbervilles, Part 6:
whoo From the web:
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