aw

1 of 2

interjection

used to express mild disappointment, gentle entreaty, or real or mock sympathy or sentiment

AW

2 of 2

abbreviation

1
actual weight
2
aircraft warning
3
articles of war
4
automatic weapon

Examples of aw in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Interjection
In the north of the British Isles, people sometimes combined ye, a second person plural pronoun for you, along with aw, meaning all. Bill Chappell, NPR, 16 July 2025 Studies of fathers have generated some alarmist headlines over the years, and Hrdy has kindly collated them: no dad joke: fatherhood shrinks the brain; aw, nuts! Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024 And then … aw, just cue up the video player for the epic Francisco Lindor homer that won this thing! Jayson Stark, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024 Deadline was the first to report the news, with the outlet saying Quinn has been inseparable with a guitar — aw — while filming Fantastic Four overseas. Devon Ivie, Vulture, 13 Dec. 2024 Trump Media, which trades as DJT on the Nasdaq, aw its market cap fall more than 40% between Tuesday afternoon and Friday. Dan Mangan,kevin Breuninger,jake Piazza,annie Nova,rebecca Picciotto,ece Yildirim, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2024 There’s that, ‘Oh gosh’ kind of ‘aw shucks’ thing going on. Gary Graff, Billboard, 27 Sep. 2024 This scene starts out cute — aw, Margo and Sergei are both eating burgers in their respective hotel rooms! Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 5 Jan. 2024 Studies of fathers have generated some alarmist headlines over the years, and Hrdy has kindly collated them: no dad joke: fatherhood shrinks the brain; aw,nuts! Dan Piepenbring, Harper's Magazine, 30 Mar. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

Interjection

1797, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of aw was in 1797

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Aw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aw. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

Kids Definition

aw

interjection
used to express mild sympathy, pleading, disbelief, or disappointment

Medical Definition

A&W

abbreviation
alive and well

More from Merriam-Webster on aw

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