Chow Meaning
/t͡ʃaʊ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounFood, especially snacks.
nounUnripe, or partially ripened, fruit seasoned and served as a dish, e.g. pineapple chow or mango chow.
Sentence Examples
As for me, I don't eat meat, so I ordered veg chow mein.
Boris's Chow barks all the time at the attic.
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the long hike, everyone was eager to ____ down on some hearty stew.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In military slang, the soldiers often call their meal time ____ time.
Word Origin & History
Shortened from chow-chow, from Chinese Pidgin English chow-chow. Compare Macanese chau-cháu. See also English chow fun, chow mein, etc.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Donlon says, "Well, we're rich and we got beaucoup beer and beaucoup chow. Now all we need is the Bob Hope show.""
— 1979, Gustav Hasford, The Short-Timers, New York: Bantam Books, published 1980, →ISBN, page 93:
"‘I'd try and grapple with him myself, only I've got my chow in my room, you know, and he goes for pigs wherever he finds them.’"
— 1914, Saki, ‘The Lull’, Beasts and Superbeasts:
"While we were talking, one of the chows, the rusty one, had come over to me and I was absently petting him."
— 1988 March 4, Jane Weinberg, “First Person: Me and Georgia O'Keeffe”, in Chicago Reader:
"These were the creatures Nawnim had been amazed to see about him on the day of his arrival. When he inquired about them, Anna told him they were Japs an' Chows."
— 1938, Xavier Herbert, chapter V, in Capricornia, page 74:
"‘Now look here old man if you should ever bump into an interesting Chow from over the river – one with access, follow me? – just you remember High Haven!’"
— 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society, published 2010, page 11:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the long hike, everyone was eager to ____ down on some hearty stew.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In military slang, the soldiers often call their meal time ____ time.