Wow

Wow is an English interjection used to express astonishment, admiration, or enthusiasm. It can stand alone or appear in phrases such as wow factor. It can also function as a verb meaning to astonish or impress someone, as in a performance that wowed the audience.

The word is generally considered onomatopoeic, imitating the sound of surprise. Etymology traces its usage to the 19th century, and it has become common in spoken language, informal writing, and digital communication, where capitalization and punctuation vary with sentence style.

World of Warcraft, abbreviated WoW, is a widely known example of the acronym in popular culture. It is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and released in 2004. Set in the Warcraft fantasy universe, WoW allows players to create characters, explore a shared world, complete quests, and engage in cooperative and competitive activities. The game has received multiple expansion packs and has had a significant impact on online gaming culture, esports, and community-driven content.

The Wow! signal refers to a famous event in the search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Detected in 1977 by the Big Ear radio telescope and logged by Jerry R. Ehman, the signal appeared as a strong narrowband radio transmission near 1420 MHz and lasted about 72 seconds. It has not been observed again and remains unexplained, often cited as the most compelling unconfirmed candidate in SETI studies.

Beyond these, wow functions as a common reaction in everyday communication and appears in various branding, media, and internet memes, where it continues to convey a sense of surprise or awe.