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whoa

SayWOH/woʊ/UK/wəʊ/

Verbwhoas, whoaing, whoaed

4 meanings of whoa

Practice

  1. 1
    interjection
    A word you say when something surprises you.

    Like the sound you make when something jumps out at you.

    Whoa, did you see how big that wave was?

    Whoa, this is the best cake I've ever tasted!

    Similarwow, gosh

    Note
  2. 2
    interjection
    A word used to tell a horse or a person to stop, slow down, or calm down.

    Like pressing the brakes, but using your voice instead.

    "Whoa, girl," he said softly, easing the horse to a halt.

    Whoa, everyone calm down and let's talk this through.

    Similarsteady

    Oppositegiddyup

    Note
  3. 3
    verbtransitive
    To try to make an animal stop or slow down by shouting "whoa."

    She tried to whoa the pony before it bolted toward the gate.

    The farmer whoaed his horses as they neared the steep slope.

    Similarhalt, stop, check

    Note
  4. 4
    interjection
    A sound with no real meaning, sung to fill out a line in a song.

    Everyone sang the "whoa, whoa" part of the chorus together.

    The song ends with a long, drawn-out "whoa."

    Note

Practice

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Origin

"Whoa" comes from older forms like "woa" and "wo," going back to Middle English "ho." It probably came from an Old Norse call "hó!" used by shepherds.