whoa

Meanings

1. 1
   intj

   used as a command for a horse or other animal to stop or slow down

   The driver pulled the reins and called, "Whoa!" to the horse.

2. 2
   intj

   used to express surprise or to tell someone to pause or slow down

   Whoa, that price is much higher than I expected.

3. 3
   verb

   to try to stop or slow an animal by calling whoa

   She whoaed the nervous horses before they reached the gate.

A nineteenth-century spelling of earlier wo or who, a command used to halt a horse. Those forms continue Middle English ho, an exclamation calling for a stop, probably related to Old Norse ho, a shepherd's call.

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