woo
/wuː/verb, interjection, adjective, noun
woo is spelled W-O-O: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, woo means “To endeavor to gain someone's affection or support” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in woo?
| Letters | 3: W-O-O |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 7.4 times per million words; the 8,669th 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 woo?
Woo appears 7.4 times per million words in written English, the 8,669th 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 woo?
- /wuː/
Woo 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-woo.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with woo
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 woo
- woos present, singular, he/she/it
- wooing participle, present
- wooed participle, past
- wo
- wow
- wowe
- more woo comparative
- most woo superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does woo mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To endeavor to gain someone's affection or support.
They're trying to woo the customers back with this new mobile plan.
- 2
Often of a man, to try to persuade (someone) to be in an amorous relationship with.
- 3
To court solicitously; to invite with importunity; to solicit in love.
interjection
- 1
informalAlternative spelling of whoo, expressing joy or excitement.
"I got you a new cell phone." "Woo, that's great!"
adjective
- 1
Alternative form of woo woo.
noun
- 1
Alternative form of woo woo (“esoteric, pseudoscientific phenomena”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Woo in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | courtiser, faire la cour (à) |
| German | umwerben , den Hof machen |
| Portuguese | cortejar |
| Spanish | cortejar, pololear, jotear, doñear |
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 woo come from?
From Middle English wowen, woȝen, from Old English wōgian (“to woo, court, marry”), of uncertain origin. Cognate with Scots wow (“to woo”). Perhaps related to Old English wōg, wōh (“bending, crookedness”), in the specific sense of "bend or incline (some)one toward oneself". If so, then derived from Proto-Germanic *wanhō (“a bend, angle”), from Proto-Indo-European *wonk- (“crooked, bent”), from Proto-Indo-European *wā- (“to bend, twist, turn”); related to Old Norse vá (“corner, angle”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).