Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- interj. Used as a command to stop, as to a horse.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Stop! stand still!
Wiktionary
- interj. stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down.
- interj. An expression of surprise.
GNU Webster's 1913
- interj. Stop; stand; hold. See ho, 2.
Etymologies
- 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 hó! (interjection, also, a shepherd's call). Compare German ho, Old French ho ! ("hold!, halt!"). (Wiktionary)
Examples
“The Kydd apparently thinks Harry and I need the word whoa translated.”
“I'm more qualified than Palin to run this country, except (whoa is me), I can't see Russia from my house.”
“Write blog posts on topics other than “whoa is me”. k_sra Said,”
“Although, “whoa is me” is perhaps a better suited sentiment to the demanding and fast-paced lives of moms.”
“Also, FYI, “whoa is me” would mean “slow down is me,” as in “whoa” the direction one gives a horse.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, is that you topless in the second panel?”
“Notellin whoa what a post - and on the ball! on January 6, 2008 at 3: 35 pm | Reply Angry Rozzer”
“And whoa, is Oz simultaneously pretty and very very male in your Xander's perception.”
“Joke all you want about "pop quiz" hilarity and Keanu's "whoa" - factor ... this is classic '90s action at its best.”
Our Favorite Performances From Sandra Bullock, The Top-Earning Star Of 2009 » MTV Movies Blog
“We straddle stumps, bend down saplings, stop while the horse takes a bite of sweet birch, tack and tip and tumble and back through the tight squeezes between the trees; and finally, after a prodigious amount of "whoa" - ing and "oh" - ing and squealing and screeching, we land right side up and so headed that we can start the load out toward the open road.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘whoa’.
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Public List: Two by Fives
This is an experiment in public lists--something I've been thinking about for some time. The goal is to create a collection of short, powerful, evocative words.
This is an open list. A...icy, howl, hymn, thorn, fire, vile, mist, blunt, scum, dark, shot, gleam and 221 more...
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One Worders
Famous one word lines from movies. http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2012/05/the-best-one-...
rosebud, Bueller, plastics, inconceivable, Stella, freedom, Adrian, attica, khan, wolverines, toga, juicyfruit and 11 more...
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sound (loud)
words for loud sounds
( open list, descriptive, randomness )
also see:
http://www.wordnik.com/lists/onomatopo...crash, thud, bump, thump, boom, smash, explode, roar, scream, screech, short, yell and 168 more...
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favorite words
ennui, bonhomie, eschew, liaison, serendipity, lovely, dusk, kitten, epitome, sexy, beloved, darling and 396 more...
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D's Words
If you could "tag" people....
allemande, bebop, excessive, assiduous, bailiwick, bandana, befuddle, busker, disconcerting, clothespin, cogitate, cultivar and 55 more...
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Sled Dogs!
malamute, husky, wheel dog, lead dog, gee, haw, sled, line, hike, mush, on by, gang line and 31 more...
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Overused
Words that are used way too much in conversation, especially by me. Which is not to say I don't like them
awkward, random, totally, so, fully, sweet, whatever, bloody, skill0rz, skillage, skill, oh my god and 35 more...
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dontcry's sounds-like list
sounds like
wow, ugh, arrgh, grrrrrrr, uh-oh, eek, whoa, ah-ha, uh-huh, ungasie, whew, tut-tut and 21 more...
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just saying
yeah, alas, aargh, bah, because, boo, certainly, damn, geez, grrr, hey, lame and 34 more...
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Amity's words
My daughter's expressive vocabulary as of Dec 2012 (born May '11), including quasi-lexical interjections. No attempt is made to reflect (mis)pronunciation by phonetic spelling, even though it would...
ball, eye, car, apple, cheese, milk, bottle, water, light, no, dad, mom and 43 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for whoa.
reesetee What? I use those words in place of "whoa" all the time. Aug 16, 2010
ruzuzu Hahahaha!
"Words often used in the same way as whoa | show examples · words
Zambian · backpacker · beauti · brownish-yellow · businesswoman · decathlon · fibry · ickle · is- · macrowave · shakin · shark-infested · speak · streetwise · theline · turfy · two-time · uber · well-tilled · well-worked · welterweight · whe"
- Wordnik Aug 16, 2010
Prolagus Whoa! I like this sound. Apr 3, 2008