meow

English

A pleading cat.

Alternative forms

• miaow, miaou (UK)
• meaw, meeow (obsolete)

Etymology

Alteration of earlier mew, from Middle English mewen (“to mew, meow”), of onomatopoeic origin.

Compare Saterland Frisian mauje, miauje (“to meow”), West Frisian miaukje (“to meow”), Dutch miauwen (“to meow”), Middle Low German mauwen, mawen, mouwen (“to meow”) (whence modern German Low German mauen, miauen (“to meow”)), Middle High German mouen, modern German miauen (“to meow”). Some spellings were modelled on French miaou. Meow and its spelling variants entered widespread currency in the 19th century, mostly replacing mew, possibly as phonetic change meant that word had ceased to approximate a cat's cry (note the pronunciation of Middle English mewen /ˈmɛu̯ən/ compared to modern /ˈmjuː/).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /miˈaʊ̯/, /mjaʊ̯/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aʊ

Interjection

meow

1. The cry of a cat.

   Synonyms: (anime and manga fandom) nyao, nyan, nyaa

2. (colloquial) Said in reply to a spiteful or catty comment.
3. (colloquial) Expressing seductiveness, mimicking a growl.

Translations

cry of a cat

• Bashkir: мыяу (mıyaw)
• Belarusian: мяў (mjaŭ), мяу (mjau)
• Bikol Central: ngiyaw
• Bulgarian: мя́у (mjáu)
• Catalan: mèu (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 喵 (miu¹)

  Mandarin: 喵 (zh) (miāo), 咪咪 (zh) (mīmī)

• Czech: mňau (cs)
• Danish: mjav (da), miav
• Dutch: miauw (nl)
• Dzongkha: སྨེ (sme)
• Esperanto: miaŭ (eo)
• Estonian: mäu (et), näu, mjäu, njäu
• Faroese: mjarr, mjavv
• Finnish: miau (fi), mau (fi)
• French: miaou (fr)
• Galician: miau (gl)
• German: miau (de), maunz (de)
• Greek: νιάου (el) (niáou)
• Hawaiian: ʻoau, ʻowau
• Hebrew: מיאו
• Hindi: म्याऊँ (myāū̃)
• Hungarian: miau (hu)
• Icelandic: mjá (is)
• Indonesian: meong (id)
• Interlingua: miau
• Irish: míáú
• Italian: miao (it)
• Japanese: ニャー (ja) (nyā), ニャン (nyan)
• Jarai: meo
• Kannada: ಮಿಯಾವ್ (miyāv)
• Kazakh: мияу (miäu)
• Khmer: ង៉ាវៗ (ŋaav-ŋaav)
• Korean: 야옹 (ko) (yaong)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: میاو (ckb) (myaw)

• Lao: ເໝີວຍາ (miao)
• Latgalian: ņau
• Latin: miau
• Latvian: ņau, mjau
• Lithuanian: miau (lt)
• Luxembourgish: miau
• Malay: ngeong, miau (ms), ngiau (ms)
• Mongolian: мяу (mjau)
• Nepali: म्याउ (myāu)
• Northern Thai: ᩉ᩠ᨾᩢ᩠ᨿ᩠ᩅ
• Norwegian: mjau (no)
• Persian: میو (fa) (miyu)
• Polish: miau (pl)
• Portuguese: miau (pt)
• Romanian: miau (ro), miorlau (ro)
• Russian: мя́у (ru) (mjáu)
• Scottish Gaelic: miamha
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мјау, мњау

  Roman: mjau, mnjau

• Slovak: mňau
• Slovene: mjav
• Spanish: miau (es), ñau (es), ñew m
• Swedish: mjau (sv)
• Tagalog: ingaw, ngiyaw
• Tamil: மியாவ் (miyāv)
• Telugu: మ్యావ్ (myāv)
• Thai: เหมียว (th) (mǐao)
• Turkish: miyav (tr)
• Ukrainian: няв (njav)
• Vietnamese: ngoao (vi), ngao (vi), meo (vi), méo (vi) (emphatic)
• Volapük: miov
• Yiddish: מיאַו (myau)

said in reply to a spiteful comment

Noun

meow (countable and uncountable, plural meows)

1. (countable) The cry of a cat.
   • 1968, Bob Dylan (lyrics and music), “Quinn the Eskimo”:

     A cat’s meow and a cow’s moo, I can recite them all / Just tell me where it hurts you, honey

2. (UK, slang, uncountable) The drug mephedrone.

   Synonyms: drone, meow meow

Derived terms

• cat’s meow
• meowless
• meowlike
• meowy
• poor little meow meow
• snowmeow

 

Translations

cry of a cat

• Arabic: مُوَاء (ar) m (muwāʔ)
• Armenian: մլավոց (hy) (mlavocʻ)
• Bulgarian: мяу (mjau)
• Catalan: miol (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 喵 (meu¹)

  Mandarin: 喵 (zh) (miāo), 咪咪 (zh) (mīmī), 貓叫聲／猫叫声 (zh) (māojiàoshēng)

• Czech: mňoukání (cs) n, zamňoukání n
• Danish: miav, mjav (da), miau (da)
• Dutch: miauw (nl), gemiauw (nl) n
• Esperanto: miaŭo (eo)
• Estonian: mjäu, näu
• Faroese: mjarr
• Finnish: nau’unta, naukuminen (fi), naukuna
• French: miaou (fr) m, miaulement (fr) m, nyaw f
• Galician: miau (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Miau (de) n, Gemiaue n, Gemaunze n, Miauen n
• Greek: νιαούρισμα (el) n (niaoúrisma)
• Icelandic: mjálm (is) n
• Ido: miaulo (io)
• Indonesian: meong (id)
• Interlingua: miau
• Irish: meamhlach f
• Italian: miao (it)
• Japanese: にゃ (ja) (nya), にゃあ (ja) (nyā), ニャア (nyā)
• Kapampangan: miyaw, ngeung
• Korean: 야옹 (ko) (yaong)
• Latvian: ņaudiens m
• Lithuanian: miau (lt)
• Malay: ngeong, ngiau (ms), ngiauan
• Norwegian: mjau (no)
• Polish: miau (pl), miauczenie (pl) n, miauk (pl) m
• Portuguese: miado (pt)
• Quechua: miyaw ñiy
• Romanian: mieunat (ro) n, miorlăit (ro) n
• Russian: мяу́кание (ru) n (mjaúkanije)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мјаукање n, мјаук m

  Roman: mjaukanje n, mjauk (sh) m

• Slovak: mňau
• Slovene: mjavkanje n
• Spanish: maullido (es) m
• Swedish: mjau (sv) n, jamande (sv) n
• Tagalog: ingaw, ngiyaw
• Turkish: miyav (tr)
• Vietnamese: meo meo, mèo mèo
• Volapük: miov

mephedrone

• Hindi: म्याऊं म्याऊं (myāū̃ myāū̃) (slang)

Verb

meow (third-person singular simple present meows, present participle meowing, simple past and past participle meowed)

1. (intransitive) Of a cat, to make its cry.

Conjugation

Conjugation of meow

infinitive	(to) meow
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	meow	meowed
2nd-person singular	meow, meowest†
3rd-person singular	meows, meoweth†
plural	meow
subjunctive	meow	meowed
imperative	meow	—
participles	meowing	meowed

Synonyms

• mew

Translations

of a cat, to make its cry

• Arabic: مَاءَ (ar) (māʔa), تَمَوَّأَ (tamawwaʔa)
• Armenian: մլավել (hy) (mlavel)
• Catalan: miolar (ca)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: please add this translation if you can

  Mandarin: 貓叫／猫叫 (zh) (māojiào), 咪咪叫 (zh) (mīmī jiào)

• Crimean Tatar: miyavlamaq
• Czech: mňoukat (cs) impf, mňouknout pf
• Danish: mjave
• Dutch: miauwen (nl)
• Esperanto: miaŭi (eo)
• Estonian: näuguma, kräunuma
• Faroese: mjarra, mjavma, mjavva, mjóma
• Finnish: naukua (fi)
• French: miauler (fr)
• Galician: miañar (gl)
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: miauen (de), maunzen (de), mauzen
• Greek: νιαουρίζω (el) (niaourízo)
• Hungarian: nyávog (hu)
• Icelandic: mjálma
• Ido: miaular (io)
• Interlingua: miaular
• Italian: miagolare (it)
• Japanese: にゃあと鳴く (にゃあとなく, nyā to naku), 鳴く (ja) (なく, naku)
• Kapampangan: magmiyaw, magngeung
• Kazakh: мияулау (miäulau)
• Korean: 야옹하다 (yaonghada)
• Kurdish:

  Central Kurdish: میاواندن (myawandin)

• Latin: felio, maumo
• Latvian: ņaudēt
• Lithuanian: miauksėti
• Malay: please add this translation if you can
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: мяалах (mjaalax)

• Norman: miaûner, vioûler
• Norwegian: mjaue (no)
• Polish: miauczeć (pl)
• Portuguese: miar (pt)
• Romanian: mieuna (ro), miorlăi (ro)
• Russian: мяу́кать (ru) impf (mjaúkatʹ), мяу́кнуть (ru) pf (mjaúknutʹ) (semelfactive)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мјаукати, мјаукнути

  Roman: mjaukati (sh), mjauknuti (sh)

• Slovak: mňaukať
• Slovene: mjavkati
• Spanish: maullar (es), hacer miau, miagar (es) (Cantabria)
• Swedish: jama (sv)
• Tagalog: umingaw, ngumiyaw
• Turkish: miyavlamak (tr)
• Turkmen: mawlamak
• Uzbek: miyovlamoq (uz)
• Venetian: znjaołar
• Volapük: miovön (vo)