The AI-powered English dictionary
Stop (especially when commanding a horse or imitative thereof); calm down; slow down. quotations examples
I can see Mickie getting hot, I'm about to grab his arm, hold him back, say, Whoa, whoa, Mick, not here, it ain't worth it what happened inside just now.
2007, Ron Liebman, Death by Rodrigo, New York: Simon & Schuster, page 134
An expression of surprise. quotations examples
Whoa. Wait a minute, Doc. Are you trying to tell me that my mother has got the hots for me?
1985, Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale, Back to the Future, spoken by Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox)
Jen: Douglas has asked me to be his PA.Moss: Oh. My. God! Well, that is something and a half. His PA? How... Whoa! His PA... Shut up! His PA!Jen: It means "personal assistant".Moss: Thank you. Right, OK.
2007 September 28, Graham Linehan, The IT Crowd, season 2, episode 6
Used as a meaningless filler in song lyrics. quotations examples
I am the type who is liable to snipe youWith two seconds left to go, whoa.
2003, "Weird Al" Yankovic, eBay (song)
And oh whoa girl, it's a shame.Oh whoa girl, it's a doggone shame.
2010, Bruce Springsteen, It's a Shame
third-person singular simple present whoas, present participle whoaing, simple past and past participle whoaed
(transitive) To attempt to slow (an animal) by crying "whoa". quotations examples
He was whoaing the horses loudly, and they did seem to be going faster than usual—in fact, they were galloping.
1926, Josephine Demott Robinson, The Circus Lady, page 38