# meow

Pronunciation: say "mee-OW" /miˈaʊ̯/

## Interjection

1. Spoken or written to represent the cry of a cat.
   - Simple: Said to copy the crying sound a cat makes.
   - _"Meow," he teased, mimicking the tabby winding around his ankles._
   - _In the picture book, the speech bubble over the kitten just says "Meow!"_
4. Spoken in response to a spiteful or catty comment, playfully likening it to a cat. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Said as a playful reply when someone makes a mean, catty remark.
   - _"Meow," Jenna shot back when her coworker took a swipe at her outfit._
   - _Someone in the back went "meow" the moment the catty insult landed._
5. Uttered in a low, playful tone to convey seductiveness, imitating a growl. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: Said in a low, playful way to sound flirty or sexy.
   - _"Meow," she drawled, draping herself over the armrest of the couch._
   - _He answered her flirtation with a teasing, growly "meow."_

## Noun

2. The characteristic cry that a cat makes.
   - Simple: The short crying sound a cat makes.
   - _A plaintive meow at the door meant the cat wanted to come inside._
   - _She could recognize her kitten's meows from across the apartment._
6. A slang term for mephedrone, a synthetic stimulant drug. *(slang, UK)*
   - Simple: A slang name for the illegal drug mephedrone.
   - _The dealer was reportedly selling meow to students across the campus._
   - _She had never tried meow until that summer at university._

## Verb

3. Of a cat, to produce its characteristic cry.
   - Simple: To make the crying sound that a cat makes.
   - _The hungry cat meowed insistently at the empty food bowl._
   - _House cats meow at humans far more than they do at one another._

## Origin

An alteration of the earlier word mew, from Middle English mewen, mouwen, of onomatopoeic (sound-imitating) origin, with related forms in Dutch, Low German, and German. Some spellings were modelled on French miaou, and meow became widespread in the 19th century, largely replacing mew, possibly because sound changes had made mew no longer resemble a cat's cry.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/meow (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).