Word.ws English Dictionary

powwow

/ˈpaʊ(ˌ)waʊ/

powwow noun: a ritual conducted by a Native American shaman.

Noun

powwow (plural powwows)

  1. A ritual conducted by a Native American shaman.
  2. A Native American shaman.
  3. A Native American council or meeting.
  4. (informal) A short, private conference.
    • While the powwow was going on the big woman came back again. She was consider'ble rumpled and scratched up, but there was fire in her eye.1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter XII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC
  5. (Canada, US) A large gathering during which Indigenous songs and dances are showcased for an audience, essentially a recital or concert. Often also doubles as a fundraiser, or can be held in conjunction with a non-indigenous fair or exhibition in order to attract a large crowd, as at the Calgary Stampede and K-Days.
    • On the way out, Octavio handed me a flyer for the powwow that listed the prize money in each dance category.2018, Tommy Orange, There There, Harvill Secker, page 24
  6. A tradition of folk magic practiced by the Pennsylvania Dutch.

Verb

powwow (third-person singular simple present powwows, present participle powwowing, simple past and past participle powwowed)

  1. (intransitive) To hold a meeting; to gather together in council.
    • [The] Indians saw everything that happened and powwowed all night, needing more than anything else the presence of Tecumseh. The most aggressive element was the Winnebagos, who insisted on attacking.2005, Glen Tucker, Tecumseh: A Vision of Glory, page 224
  2. (intransitive, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch) To conduct a ritual in which magic is used.
    • Maybe no one— except possibly Leah— powwowed anymore.2007, David W. Kriebel, Powwowing Among the Pennsylvania Dutch, page 10
  3. (informal, intransitive, offensive, often) To hold a private conference.

powwow meaning in Tamil

powwow in Tamil

சந்திப்பு, கலந்துரையாடல், கலந்துரையாடு

Forms of powwow

Noun
pluralpowwows
alternative formpow wow
alternative formpow-wow
alternative formpau wau
Verb
third-person singular presentpowwows
present participlepowwowing
past participlepowwowed
pastpowwowed

Origin of powwow

From an Eastern Algonquian language, probably Massachusett pauwau (“he uses divination; he practices magic or sorcery”) or Narragansett powwáw (“sorcerer, shaman”), ultimately from Proto-Algonquian *pawe·wa (“one who dreams”).

Words formed from powwow

Questions about powwow

What does powwow mean?
Powwow means a ritual conducted by a Native American shaman.
What is powwow in Tamil?
Powwow in Tamil is சந்திப்பு, கலந்துரையாடல், கலந்துரையாடு. See Powwow meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is powwow?
Powwow can be a noun or a verb.
How do you pronounce powwow?
Powwow is pronounced /ˈpaʊ(ˌ)waʊ/.
What is the plural of powwow?
The plural of powwow is powwows.

Words near powwow in the dictionary

  1. powts
  2. powwaw
  3. powwawed
  4. powwawing
  5. powwaws
  6. powwow
  7. powwowed
  8. powwower
  9. powwowers
  10. powwowing
  11. powwowism

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: powwow (page history and authors); powwow (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-powwow.wav.

Cite this entry: “powwow.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/powwow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.