me·ow

[mee-ou, myou]
noun
1.
the characteristic sound a cat makes.
2.
a spiteful or catty remark.
verb (used without object)
3.
to make the sound of a cat.
4.
to make a spiteful or catty remark.
Also, miaow, miaou, miaul.


Origin:
1870–75; imitative
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To Meow
00:10
Meow is one of our favorite verbs.
So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:
to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.
chat, to converse
Collins
World English Dictionary
meow, miaou, miaow or miaul (mɪˈaʊ, mjaʊ, mɪˈaʊ, mjaʊ, mɪˈaʊ, mjaʊ, mɪˈaʊl, mjaʊl)
 
vb
1.  (intr) (of a cat) to make a characteristic crying sound
 
interj
2.  an imitation of this sound
 
miaou, miaou, miaow or miaul
 
vb
 
interj
 
miaow, miaou, miaow or miaul
 
vb
 
interj
 
miaul, miaou, miaow or miaul
 
vb
 
interj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

meow
1873, earlier miaow, also miau (1634), meaw (1632). Of imitative origin, cf. Fr. miaou, Ger. miauen, Pers. maw, Japanese nya nya, Ar. nau-nau. In Chinese, miau means "cat."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
One noticeable difference, however, is that every lyric has been replaced by their studio engineer singing the word meow.
The loud meow demanded attention and priority over opening other gifts.
But scientists say none of these animals can learn to bark, meow, or growl in a new way.
They meow and complain for a few weeks but finally get over it and start entertaining each other at night.
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