Standard Lemma guide

chow

name · noun · verb · 15 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /t͡ʃaʊ/
  • rhymes with -aʊ
  • homophone: ciao
  • homophone: chow
  • UK: /t͡ʃaʊ/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: CH AW1 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

A surname from Cantonese.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

Alternative form of Zhou (“dynasty, realm, and era”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: alt-of, alternative, obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Food, especially snacks.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: slang, uncountable, usually

Examples

  • I'm going to pick up some chow for dinner.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Unripe, or partially ripened, fruit seasoned and served as a dish, e.g. pineapple chow or mango chow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Trinidad-and-Tobago, uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A Chow Chow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

A Chinese person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, archaic, slang, uncountable, usually

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

A prefecture or district of the second rank in China, or the chief city of such a district.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

A run of three consecutive tiles of the same suit.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: board-games, games, mahjong

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: sequence

Antonyms: none provided

9

noun

Meaning 9

A call for forming such a run using a discarded tile.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: board-games, games, mahjong

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chii

Antonyms: none provided

10

noun

Meaning 10

A Chow Chow (Chinese breed of dog).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

11

verb

Meaning 11

To eat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: South-Africa, slang

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

12

verb

Meaning 12

To call a discarded tile to produce a chow.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: board-games, games, mahjong

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chii

Antonyms: none provided

13

noun

Meaning 13

breed of medium-sized dogs with a thick coat and fluffy curled tails and distinctive blue-black tongues; believed to have originated in northern China

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chow chow

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: spitz

14

noun

Meaning 14

informal terms for a meal

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: chuck, eats, grub

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fare

15

noun

Meaning 15

the imperial dynasty of China from 1122 to 221 BC; notable for the rise of Confucianism and Taoism

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Zhou, Zhou dynasty, Chou, Chou dynasty, Chow dynasty

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: dynasty

History

Etymology

From Cantonese 周 (zau1).

Shortened from chow-chow, from Chinese Pidgin English chow-chow. Compare Macanese chau-cháu. See also English chow fun, chow mein, etc.

Borrowed from Chinese 州 (zhōu).

Phono-semantic matching of Chinese 吃 (chī, literally “to eat”), influenced by the “food” sense of Etymology 1 above.

Across languages

Translations

39 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 食物 (shíwù) — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Czech: bašta — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Czech: žrádlo — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Czech: gáblík — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Dutch: eten — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Finnish: sapuska — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Finnish: safka — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Finnish: muona — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Finnish: ruoka — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • French: bouffe — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • German: Fressalien — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Hungarian: kaja — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Italian: foraggio — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Japanese: 食い物 (kuimono) — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Japanese: めし (meshi) — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Russian: жратва́ (žratvá) — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Russian: ха́вчик (xávčik) — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Russian: харчи́ (xarčí) — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Serbo-Croatian: клопа — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Serbo-Croatian: klopa — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Vietnamese: thức ăn — ''(slang)'' food, especially snacks
  • Chinese Cantonese: 順子 /顺子 (seon6 zi2) — mahjong: a set of three consecutive tiles
  • Chinese Mandarin: 順子 /顺子 (shùnzi) — mahjong: a set of three consecutive tiles
  • Japanese: 順子 (shuntsu) — mahjong: a set of three consecutive tiles
  • Korean: 슌쯔 (syunjjeu) — mahjong: a set of three consecutive tiles
  • Chinese Cantonese: 上 (soeng5) — mahjong: a call for a set of three consecutive tiles
  • Chinese Mandarin: 吃 (chī) — mahjong: a call for a set of three consecutive tiles
  • Japanese: チー (chī) — mahjong: a call for a set of three consecutive tiles
  • Japanese: 吃 (chī) — mahjong: a call for a set of three consecutive tiles
  • Korean: 츠 (cheu) — mahjong: a call for a set of three consecutive tiles
  • Korean: 샹 (syang) — mahjong: a call for a set of three consecutive tiles
  • Czech: dlabat — to eat
  • Czech: baštit — to eat
  • German: essen — to eat
  • German: verschlingen — to eat
  • German: hinunterschlingen — to eat
  • Japanese: 食べる (taberu) — to eat
  • Japanese: 食う (kuu) — to eat
  • Japanese: 食らう (kurau) — to eat