whoa

whoa

stop: used esp. in directing a horse to stand still

Origin of whoa

for ho

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MLA Style

"whoa." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/whoa>.

APA Style

whoa. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/whoa

whoa

interjection

Used as a command to stop, as to a horse.
Used to express surprise, amazement, or great pleasure.

THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Link/Cite

Link to this page

Cite this page

MLA Style

"whoa." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/whoa>.

APA Style

whoa. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/whoa

Interjection

stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down.
Whoa, Nelly!
An expression of surprise.
Whoa, are you serious?

Usage notes

Another alternate spelling from woa, woah (c. 1856), is common, especially on the internet.

Origin

Whoa (c. 1843) is a variant of woa (c. 1840), itself a variant of wo (c. 1787), from who (c. 1450), ultimately from Middle English ho, hoo (interjection), probably from Old Norse hÃ³! (interjection, also, a shepherd's call). Compare German ho, Old French ho ! (“hold!, halt!").