woo

verb

ˈwü 

wooed; wooing; woos

transitive verb

1

: to sue for the affection of and usually marriage with : court

2

: to solicit or entreat especially with importunity

woo new customers

3

: to seek to gain or bring about

intransitive verb

: to court a woman

wooer noun

Synonyms

• ask (for)
• court
• flirt (with)
• invite

Examples of woo in a Sentence

The store had a sale in an effort to woo new customers.

The company must find creative ways to woo new employees.

Recent Examples on the Web

Britain’s government on Friday named Peter Mandelson as its new ambassador to the U.S. with a mission of wooing Trump, avoiding a trade war and keeping the two countries aligned over Ukraine. —Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024

Either result is a death knell to a club hoping to woo players and build a competitive roster. —Dan Freedman, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024

The scale of the fraud rattled confidence in an economy which hopes to woo foreign investors away from competitors such as neighboring China, which could find itself hobbled by US tariffs under the second Donald Trump administration. —Kathleen Magramo, CNN, 6 Dec. 2024

Then, the Yankees wangled and wooed it away from the Spanish and Mexicans. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 6 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wowen, from Old English wōgian

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Phrases Containing woo

• woo-hoo
• woo-woo

Kids Definition

woo

verb

ˈwü 

1

: to try to gain the love of : court

2

: to seek to gain or bring about

political candidates wooing public support