Whoo or woo?
whoo is an interjection meaning “An expression of joy and excitement”; woo is a verb meaning “To endeavor to gain someone's affection or support”. Use whoo as an interjection and woo as a verb (whoo is also a verb: “To make a whoo sound, of delight, whistling, or of an owl…”). They sound the same (/wuː/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) woo is about 12 times as common as whoo.
What is the difference between whoo and woo?
| whoo | woo | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | interjection, noun, verb | verb, interjection, adjective, noun |
| Meaning | An expression of joy and excitement The wailing of a ghost A "whoo" sound; the cry of an owl or similar | To endeavor to gain someone's affection or support Often of a man, to try to persuade (someone) to be in an amorous relationship with |
| Example | none recorded | They're trying to woo the customers back with this new mobile plan |
| Forms | woo, wooh, hoo, hoot | woos, wooing, wooed |
| Pronunciation | /wuː/ | /wuː/ |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words | 7.4 times per million words |
Sources: whoo and woo in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of whoo and woo
whoo
- 1
An expression of joy and excitement
- 2
A "whoo" sound; the cry of an owl or similar
- 3
To make a whoo sound, of delight, whistling, or of an owl etc
- 4
The wailing of a ghost
- 5
The cry of an owl
woo
- 1
To endeavor to gain someone's affection or support
They're trying to woo the customers back with this new mobile plan
- 2
informalAlternative spelling of whoo, expressing joy or excitement
"I got you a new cell phone." "Woo, that's great!"
- 3
Alternative form of woo woo
- 4
Alternative form of woo woo (“esoteric, pseudoscientific phenomena”)
- 5
Often of a man, to try to persuade (someone) to be in an amorous relationship with
- 6
To court solicitously; to invite with importunity; to solicit in love
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, whoo or woo?
whoo appears about once in every 2 million words; woo 7.4 times per million words.
whoo about once in every 2 million wordswoo 7.4 times per million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).