wooed; wooing; woos

transitive verb

1
: to sue for the affection of and usually marriage with : court
2
: to solicit or entreat especially with importunity
woo new customers
3
: to seek to gain or bring about

intransitive verb

: to court a woman
wooer noun

Examples of woo in a Sentence

The store had a sale in an effort to woo new customers. The company must find creative ways to woo new employees.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Plus, the new Joy-Con controllers can be used like a computer mouse, perhaps another indication that Nintendo is looking to woo the computer gaming crowd. Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 7 Apr. 2025 CEOs like Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg are rolling up their sleeves to personally woo AI stars, according to reports, and influential VC investors like Thrive Capital’s Joshua Kushner have had to run defense, seeking to persuade OpenAI employees of the economic advantage of staying put. Sharon Goldman, Fortune, 15 Mar. 2025 Cook said the company was able to woo investors by touting its new take on bridal retail. Gabrielle Fonrouge, CNBC, 5 Mar. 2025 Erdoğan may need Kurdish support to run again Some analysts have said public suggestions by Erdoğan's political allies that Ocalan, the 75-year-old PKK leader, could be released in return for a renunciation of violence, form part of an effort to woo Kurdish voters. Willem Marx, NPR, 1 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for woo

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wowen, from Old English wōgian

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of woo was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Woo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woo. Accessed 15 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

woo

verb
1
: to try to gain the love of : court
2
: to seek to gain or bring about
political candidates wooing public support

More from Merriam-Webster on woo

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