mow
/ˈmoʊ/verb, noun
mow is spelled M-O-W: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, mow means “To cut down grass or crops” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in mow?
| Letters | 3: M-O-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 1.3 times per million words; the 25,367th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is mow?
Mow appears 1.3 times per million words in written English, the 25,367th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce mow?
- UK /ˈməʊ/
- US /ˈmoʊ/
- Australia /ˈməʉ/
As a noun (“A scornful grimace; a wry face”): /məʊ/, /moʊ/.
As a noun (“A stack of hay, corn, beans or a barn for the storage of…”): /maʊ̯/.
Mow has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-mow.ogg, En-us-mow_(etymology_3).oga, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with mow
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with mow?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as mow from its last stressed vowel (/oʊ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of mow
- mows present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- mowing participle, present
- mowed past, participle
- mown participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mow mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cut down grass or crops.
He mowed the lawn every few weeks in the summer.
- 2
To cut down or slaughter in great numbers.
- 3
To make grimaces, mock.
- 4
To put into mows.
noun
- 1
The act of mowing (a garden, grass, etc.).
The lawn hasn't had a mow for a couple of months, so it's like a jungle out there!
- 2
A shot played with a sweeping or scythe-like motion.
I consider it would engender a stiff, tame, cautious mode of play, with only now and then a mow, or a chopping hit.
- 3
A scornful grimace; a wry face.
Those that paint them dying […] delineate the prisoners spitting in their executioners faces, and making mowes at them.
- 4
A stack of hay, corn, beans or a barn for the storage of hay, corn, beans.
- 5
The place in a barn where hay or grain in the sheaf is stowed.
noun
- 1
Initialism of meals on wheels.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mow in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | couper l'herbe, faucher, tondre le gazon |
| German | mähen, schneiden |
| Portuguese | cortar |
| Spanish | podar, segar , hacina, granero , hacinar, amontonar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mow come from?
From Middle English mowen (participle mowen), from Old English māwan (past tense mēow, past participle māwen), from Proto-West Germanic *māan, from Proto-Germanic *mēaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂meh₁- (“to mow, reap”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).