chow
/tʃaʊ
/noun
1 [mass noun] informal Food: Tex-Mex chow is more than melted cheese and beans...
- Here was the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, in a combat zone on Thanksgiving day, serving chow to his soldiers.
- It was midday local time, hundreds of troops were tucking into well-earned chow.
- The Triple Rock Social Club has been serving up booze and chow on the West Bank since 1998.
2 (also chow chow) A dog of a sturdy Chinese breed with a broad muzzle, a tail curled over the back, a bluish-black tongue, and typically a dense thick coat.A study of 178 dog-bite cases reported to Denver animal control officials in 1991 revealed that German shepherds and chow chows were the dogs most likely to bite....
- The real dog is worth £750 apparently, a lot for a chow.
- That dog was the chow, and ever since chows have had blue tongues.
verb North American informal
Eat: [no object]: he chowed down on lobster...
- She should know - as an exchange student from France to the U.S. during high school, Guiliano gained 20 pounds chowing down on McDonalds and other lynchpins of the American diet.
- I often went dancing with my parents and their friends on Saturday nights and we'd wind up at the local truck stop or in someone's kitchen at 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning chowing down.
- My second day at my current place of employment, I was happily chowing down on some fried chicken in the shared kitchen when the co-founder came up behind me and stared at my plate.
Origin
Late 19th century: shortened from chow chow.