Alanna Madden
January 26, 2021
Grammar Tips
Whoa is the preferred spelling to woah. English speakers use “whoa” or “woah” as an exclamation to stop or slow horses or express alarm, joy, or surprise.
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Whether you’re a fan of Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, Beavis and Butthead, or Nelly Furtado’s first album, “Whoa, Nelly!”–– you’re probably confused about the proper spelling of whoa and woah. So, which is it? The answer is that it’s both (technically, anyway).
Whoa and woah are variant spellings of the same word, although traditional linguists argue “whoa” is the correct spelling. But since the expression is informal— and we often spell a reaction as it sounds— you’ll likely encounter “woah” within newspaper quotes, letters, or song lyrics.
We say that woah and whoa are “technically” correct because the spelling of “woah” is recognized by Lexico, a proponent of the Oxford English Dictionary and Dictionary.com. Furthermore, the interjection has changed several times over the last few centuries–– so, who’s to say it won’t change again?
With that said, English speakers have always preferred the exclamation’s original spelling of “ho” over “whoa,” “woah,” “whoah,” or any other variant that starts with the letter w. According to Google Books’ Ngram Viewer, “ho” has been the preferred spelling since the 1500s (especially for American English). The same trend exists for British English, although it never reached the same level of popularity in the United Kingdom as it did in the United States.
If you want to play it safe, use “whoa” instead of “woah.” Just make sure you pay attention to spelling variation for storytelling that occurs before the 19th century.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary is considering the addition of “woah” as a spelling variant of “whoa” after the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) questioned its formality over social media in 2017.
According to the New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD), the word “whoa” is an exclamation (and imperative verb) that commands horses and people to stop or slow down (“Whoa” 1973). For example,
Additionally, whoa is an informal way to express surprise, interest, or alarm. For example,
[1] Hey, slow, stop.
[2] Aah, gee, ha, hurrah, ooh, wow, yay.
[1] Giddyup.
[2] Aw, boo, no.
The origins of whoa represent several centuries of contextual adaptations and spelling variants, such as ‘whoo,’ ‘woa,’ or ‘whoh.’ According to NOAD, the peculiar exclamation is a late Middle English variant of “ho” (as in “surprised”).
But as far as horse commands go, Merriam-Webster lists “whoa” as a 15th-century variant of “who” or “whoo.” The Online Etymology Dictionary additionally lists “whoa” as another 17th-century variant of “who,” which people shouted to command attention from afar.
If we look at modern publications, “whoa” is the most common spelling for discussing horse commands or expressing shock, surprise, or excitement.
Example sentences:
The spelling of “woah” is less common than “whoa,” but the newer variant does exist within song lyrics, blogs, or news quotations.
Example sentences:
Keanu Reeve used the expression “whoa!” 113 times throughout his 34-year acting career.
“Whoa ho” is a combination of “whoa” and “ho,” which seems redundant when you consider the words are variations of the same word. Either way, the expression carries the same meaning as “whoa” by itself.
If you’re interested in learning more about spelling variations, check out the following posts on The Word Counter:
If you’re feeling confident about your understanding of whoa vs. woah, challenge yourself with the following multiple-choice questions.
Answers
