Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The cry of a cat.
  • noun Informal A malicious, spiteful comment.
  • intransitive verb To make the crying sound of a cat.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • verb See 6th and 7th mew.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • interjection The cry of a cat.
  • interjection Said in reply to a spiteful or catty comment.
  • noun The cry of a cat.
  • verb intransitive Of a cat, to make its cry.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun the sound made by a cat (or any sound resembling this)
  • verb cry like a cat

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Imitative.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Onomatopoeic.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word meow.

Examples

  • The expression "meow" is a string literal, and it is an lvalue.

    Site Home vcblog 2011

  • Just so you know – Katzenjammer cat’s meow is German for hangover.

    Hangover Cat - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2008

  • There can only be one Winston: D (His meow is adorable, by the way)

    Winston isn't normal 2009

  • Officers also say the substance, known by the name meow meow, is becoming increasingly popular among young people, adding it posed "a very real threat".

    Whitehaven News headlines 2010

  • Officers also say the substance, known by the name meow meow, is becoming increasingly popular among young people, adding it posed "a very real threat".

    Whitehaven News headlines 2010

  • Officers also say the substance, known by the name meow meow, is becoming increasingly popular among young people, adding it posed "a very real threat".

    Whitehaven News headlines 2010

  • Officers also say the substance, known by the name meow meow, is becoming increasingly popular among young people, adding it posed "a very real threat".

    Whitehaven News headlines 2010

  • Officers also say the substance, known by the name meow meow, is becoming increasingly popular among young people, adding it posed "a very real threat".

    Whitehaven News headlines 2010

  • Officers also say the substance, known by the name meow meow, is becoming increasingly popular among young people, adding it posed "a very real threat".

    Whitehaven News headlines 2010

  • Officers also say the substance, known by the name meow meow, is becoming increasingly popular among young people, adding it posed "a very real threat".

    Whitehaven News headlines 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Sound made by a cat

    September 28, 2011

  • Or, if you prefer the James Joyce version, mkgnao.

    September 28, 2011

  • Were you looking for mrkgnao, sionnach?

    September 28, 2011

  • Maybe so. Though I think there are several different versions in "Ulysses", mkgnao and mrkgnao being two of them.

    September 28, 2011

  • You're probably right. I prefer it with the 'r' though.

    September 28, 2011

  • Surely depends on the method of cat-whipping, no?

    September 29, 2011