- a thick-coated breed of the spitz type of dog with a curled tail and a characteristic blue-black tongue; it came originally from ChinaOften shortened to: chow
- a Chinese preserve of ginger, orange peel, etc in syrup
- a mixed vegetable pickle
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
chow chow
(chou′ chou′),USA pronunciation (often caps.)
chow-chow (chou′chou′),USA pronunciation n.
- Dog and Cat Breedsone of a Chinese breed of medium-sized dogs having a thick black, blue, red, or cream coat and a blue-black tongue.
- dialect, dialectal Chinese; compare Guangdong dialect, dialectal gáu dog
- said to be 1785–95
chow-chow (chou′chou′),USA pronunciation n.
- Fooda Chinese mixed fruit preserve.
- Fooda relish of chopped mixed pickles in mustard sauce.
- Chinese Pidgin English
- 1785–95
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
chow-chow n