miaow

miaow — noun

1. the short, high-pitched crying sound that a cat makes with its mouth, especially

1.nounA1
Definition

the short, high-pitched crying sound that a cat makes with its mouth, especially when it wants food or attention

Example

The hungry kitten gave a loud miaow when it saw the food bowl.

countable noun: give a + adjective + miaow

Sofia woke up when she heard a soft miaow from under the bed.

Common collocations
  • loud miaow
  • soft miaow
  • faint miaow
  • give a miaow
  • hear a miaow
Synonyms
  • meow

    American spelling variant; identical in meaning and pronunciation

  • cry

    more general term for any animal sound expressing distress or need

  • call

    broader term, can describe any sound an animal makes to communicate

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

a + adjective + miaow

give a + adjective + miaow

Usage Note

This is the British spelling; the American English spelling is meow. Both are pronounced the same way.

Common Mistakes

The cat miaowed a miaow at me.
The cat gave a miaow at me.
The verb miaow already describes the action, so using both verb and noun together sounds redundant.

miaow — verb

Word family

  • meow
    nounA1
  • meow
    verbA1
  • miaowing
    adjectiveA2
  • mew
    verbA2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These words describe different cat sounds. Miaow (British) and meow (American) are the same sound — the typical open-mouthed cry of a cat, often used for attention or food. Mew is a much softer, quieter sound made especially by young kittens when they are hungry or calling for their mother. Purr is a low, continuous, vibrating sound that cats make when they are content, such as while being stroked. Hiss is a sharp, sibilant sound made when a cat feels threatened or angry, often accompanied by an arched back. For example: 'The kitten mewed softly for its mother, while the older cat miaowed loudly for dinner. Once fed, the cat began to purr happily on its owner's lap.'

miaow ↗meowmewpurrhiss

Common collocations

Nouns

  • kitten
  • cat
  • tabby
  • tomboy
  • stray

Adverbs

Phrases

  • give a miaow
  • hear a miaow
  • miaow for food

Prepositions

Etymology

OnomatopoeiaEnglish

The word miaow is onomatopoeic — it imitates the natural sound of a cat's cry. It entered English in the early 1600s, with earlier forms including 'mew' and 'mau'. Similar sound-imitation words exist in many languages, such as French 'miaou', German 'miau', and Mandarin Chinese 'miāo' (喵).