coo

1 of 2

verb

cooed; cooing; coos

intransitive verb

1
: to make the low soft cry of a dove or pigeon or a similar sound
The baby cooed quietly in her crib.
2
: to talk fondly, amorously, or appreciatively
The family cooed over the baby pictures.
coo noun

COO

2 of 2

abbreviation

chief operating officer

Examples of coo in a Sentence

Verb The baby cooed quietly in her crib. The baby was making a cooing sound. They all cooed over the baby pictures. “Oh, how sweet,” she cooed.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
In restaurants, servers would come over to coo at him and make conversation with us in the process, despite the language barrier. Emily Siner, NPR, 5 Mar. 2024 In an appearance on the Today show last August, Mia cooed and wriggled in her mother Nicole’s arms, while Brooklyn sat content on Sam’s lap. Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 2 Mar. 2024 In a lesser, more reductive Hollywood exercise, these two very different characters would eventually surrender, cooing, into each other’s arms and live happily after. Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 21 Feb. 2024 Dina and Mita karate chop and kick their opponent but still have grandmother-like tendencies, including taking a break from the action to coo at a baby. Sabrina Weiss, Peoplemag, 5 Feb. 2024 Those rare billing and cooing macaws, Blu (Jesse Eisenberg) and Jewel (Anne Hathaway), have become quite domesticated while raising their expanding brood. Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024 On the album’s opening title track, Greenwood unspools some acoustic lullaby strum and Yorke coos anxiously as his voice pings amid elegiacally dissolving electro-acoustic folderol. Jon Dolan, Rolling Stone, 23 Jan. 2024 Eclectically dressed people leaned over Link’s stroller, cooing. Anna Wiener, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023 The family cooed over him in his overalls and packed his lunch. Lynsey Chutel Gulshan Khan, New York Times, 11 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'coo.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

imitative

First Known Use

Verb

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of coo was in 1577

Dictionary Entries Near coo

Cite this Entry

“Coo.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/coo. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

coo

verb
1
: to make the low soft cry of a dove or pigeon or a similar sound
2
: to talk fondly or lovingly
coo noun

More from Merriam-Webster on coo

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