chow
chow Lexical Profile
chow Game Scores & Validity
• noun
North American An informal term for food, a meal, or general provisions.
"The soldiers eagerly lined up in the mess hall when they heard it was time for chow."
A dog of a sturdy breed of Chinese origin, characterized by a thick double coat, a broad head, and a distinctive bluish-black tongue.
"She adopted a beautiful red chow with a thick, lion-like mane from the local animal shelter."
• verb
North American To eat food, often eagerly, heartily, or in large quantities (typically used with 'down').
"After hiking all day in the mountains, they were ready to sit around the campfire and chow down on some hot stew."
Word Nuance & Usage
When used as a verb, 'chow' is almost exclusively paired with the particle 'down' to form the phrasal verb 'chow down' (meaning to eat heartily).
• Rhymes for chow
Word Origin & Etymology
Late 19th century: from Chinese Pidgin English 'chow-chow', which originally referred to a mixture of miscellaneous goods or preserves, and later came to mean food or a meal in general. The dog breed's name likely stems from the same Pidgin English term applied to miscellaneous cargo shipped from China.
Usage Trend
Historical frequency of usage in published text.