Meaning & use
whoa
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Meanings
interjection
Used to show surprise, amazement, or alarm at something you have just seen or heard.
Grammar: Stands alone as an exclamation, often at the start of a sentence: Whoa, that was close!
Patterns
- whoa + clause
Whoa, I didn't expect to see you here!
Whoa, that roller coaster was fast!
Whoa, look at the size of that fish!
interjection
Used to tell someone to stop, slow down, or wait, especially when calming a horse.
Grammar: Often repeated or drawn out: Whoa, whoa, slow down!
Patterns
- whoa there
Whoa there, you're going too fast.
The rider said 'whoa' and the horse stopped.
Whoa, hold on a minute—I need to check something.
Common combinations
- whoa there
- Whoa there, partner—let's not get ahead of ourselves.
- whoa, hold on
- Whoa, hold on, I think you dropped your wallet.
- whoa, wait a minute
- Whoa, wait a minute, that's not what I meant.
- whoa, slow down
- Whoa, slow down, you're talking too fast.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: whoa or woah?
whoa vs woah
A common misspelling of 'whoa'; 'woah' is not standard in careful writing.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'whoa' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Whoa' is an interjection used alone to express surprise, so it fits at the start of a sentence. The other options treat it as a verb or noun, which is not standard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “whoa”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.