wow

/waʊ/

//waʊ// intj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"wow" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“wow” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,178 in English word frequency and used as an interjection.

#1,178
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An indication of excitement, surprise, astonishment, or pleasure.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

wow vs Wu
0% similar
wow vs wt
33% similar
wow vs WS
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for wow
PropertyValue
Headwordwow
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechInterjection
IPA/waʊ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#1,178
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “wow” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). wow lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for wow is 3 letters long, classified as an interjection, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /waʊ/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,178 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

No misspelling variants are generated for wow in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Wu", "wt", "WS", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: Attested since the 16th century; borrowed from Scots wow; ultimately a natural exclamation. The correct English form is wow, spelled W-O-W.

Definition

  1. 1
    An indication of excitement, surprise, astonishment, or pleasure.
  2. 2
    An expression of amazement, awe, or admiration.
  3. 3
    Used sarcastically to express disapproval of something.

Etymology

Attested since the 16th century; borrowed from Scots wow; ultimately a natural exclamation.

Synonyms

adzooksaycarambamirabile dictuchihuahuabegorrableeding heckbleeding Norabless my heartbless my soulbless usbligeblimeybloody hellbloody Norablow meblow me backwardsblow me downblow me overblow me pinkblow me tightblow me upblow my buttonsbutter my butt and call me a biscuitby all that is holyby Allahby crackyby Georgeby Godby gollyby gumby gummyby jingoby Joveby juckiesby Jupiterby thunderby the living jingobyrladyChristChrist aliveChrist almightyChrist on a bikeChrist on a crackerChrist on a raftChrist on a stickcoocorcor blimeycor lummycowabungacrikeycriminycripescrivvenschuffing helldear Goddear medearie medeary medear Lorddiggetyeepegadegadsermahgerdfancy thatflaming Noraflipping heckflipping Norafuarkfuck mefucking hellfucking Noragad soGadsbodikinsgadsbudgadzooksgawgeegee whizgee willikersgeeminygeezgeez Louisegeshmakget out of townglory beGod AlmightyGod in heavenGod's teethgood gollygollygolly gee willikersgolly goshgood Godgood graciousgood gravygood griefgood heavensgood Lordgoodnessgoodness graciousgoodness gracious megoodness megoogly-mooglygorblimeyGordon Bennettgoshgosh all hemlockgraciousgramercygreat balls of firegreat Caesargreat Caesar's ghostgreat googly mooglygreat Scottgyatthallohelloheavensheavens aboveheavens to Betsyheavens to Murgatroydhell's bellsheyheydayhold upholy bucketsholy cannoliholy cowholy crapholy crap on a crackerholy cricketholy cricketsholy crudholy dignityholy doodleholy fuckholy fuck knucklesholy fudgeholy guacamoleholy Hannahholy hellholy kamoleyholy kamolyholy macaroniholy mackerelholy magnumholy moleyholy molyholy manholy MosesHoly MotherHoly Mother of Godholy ravioliholy shitholy stromboliholy smokeholy Toledohooly doolyhot damnI'll beI'll be a dirty bird!I'll be a monkey's uncleI'll be a son of a bitchI'll be a son of a gunI'll be blowedI'll be boundI'll be buggeredI'll be damnedI'll be dangedI'll be darnedI'll be dashedI'll be dippedI'll be dipped in shitI'll be hangedI'll be hornswoggledI'll be jiggeredI'll be shotimagine thatI'm blowedI sayJaney MackJaysusJeebusjeepersjeepers creepersjeezjeez Louisejeezy peepsJerusalem cricketsJesum CrowJesusJesus ChristJesus fucking ChristJesus H. ChristMary and JosephJesus MurphyJiminy CricketjingsjinkiesJudas Priestjumping Jehoshaphatjumping Jesusknock me down with a featherknock me over with a featherland sakeslaukslawkslawks a-mercylawlleapin' lizardsLordLord be praisedLord love a ducklordymama miamamma miaman alivemercy sakesMother of Godmymy consciencemy giddy auntmy heavensmy sainted auntmy sainted unclemy Godmy goodnessmy goshmy Lordmy mymy wordno wayO geminiods bodikinodsfishodzookensohoh em geeohmigodoh myoh my daysoh my Godoh my Goddessoh my goodnessoh my goodness graciousoh my goshoh my helloh my heckoh my fuckoh my lifeoh my Lordoh my starsoh my wordoiOMGomigodomigoshpeas and ricepleasepraise the Lordrahruddy hellruddy Norasacré bleusakes alive'sblood'sdeathshart'sheartsheeshshit fire and save matchesshitting Norashiver my timbersshut my mouthshut the front doorslap my ass and call me Judyslap my ass and call me Sallysnakes alivesodding hellson of a gunstone mestone the crowsstrewthstrike me pink'struthsuffering Sapphosuffering succotashsweet Grandma on stiltssweet Jesussweet Marysweet mother of Godsweet mother of JesuswaowwellI neverwhatwhat do you knowwhoawhoahwowwoweewowzersye godsyikesyikes bikesyou don't sayyowzahzoikszoinksZOMGZOMFGzooterkinszoundzoundszowie

Antonyms

screw this

This word in other languages

¡guau!(Español)waouh(Français)toll!(Deutsch)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "wow"?
"wow" is spelled W-O-W. The IPA pronunciation is /waʊ/.
What does "wow" mean?
As an interjection, "wow" means: An indication of excitement, surprise, astonishment, or pleasure.
What words are commonly confused with "wow"?
"wow" is commonly confused with "Wu", "wt", "WS". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "wow"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "wow" is /waʊ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "wow"?
Attested since the 16th century; borrowed from Scots wow; ultimately a natural exclamation. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “wow”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is W-O-W - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /waʊ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “Wu” - see the side-by-side comparison. wow vs Wu
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list