whew
/hwjuː/interjection, verb
whew is spelled W-H-E-W: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “phew vs whew” about 140 times a month (Google, United States). As an interjection, whew means “An expressive sound made indicating the release of one's inner tension; the release of breath; an expression of relief” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in whew?
| Letters | 4: W-H-E-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 1.7 times per million words; the 21,209th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How common is whew?
Whew appears 1.7 times per million words in written English, the 21,209th 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 whew?
- /hwjuː/
- /fjuː/
Whew has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-whew.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with whew
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of whew
- whews present, singular, he/she/it
- whewing participle, present
- whewed participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does whew mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
interjection
- 1
An expressive sound made indicating the release of one's inner tension; the release of breath; an expression of relief.
(from strenuous labour) Whew! That box weighs a ton!
- 2
An expression of amazement or surprise.
verb
- 1
ScotlandUKTo whistle with a shrill pipe, like a plover.
- 2
UKTo bustle about.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Whew in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense an expressive sound made indicating the release of one's inner tension:
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.