woof

Noun (1)

woof (plural woofs)

1. The set of yarns carried by the shuttle of a loom which are placed crosswise at right angles to and interlaced with the warp; the weft.
   • When the plage of leproſye is in a cloth: […] that cloth ſhalbe burnt, ether warpe or wolfe, whether it be wollen or lynen or any thynge that is made of ſkynne where the plage is, […]1530 January 27 (Gregorian calendar), W[illiam] T[yndale], transl., [The Pentateuch] (Tyndale Bible), Malborow [Marburg], Hesse: […] Hans Luft [actually Antwerp: Johan Hoochstraten], →OCLC, Leuiticus...
   • […] Solon vvas of this opinion, that the proper vvorke of every art and facultie, as vvell divine as humane, vvas rather the effect and thing by it vvrought, than that vvhereby it vvas effected; […] for ſo I ſuppoſe that a vveaver vvill ſay, that his vvorke is to make a vveb for a mantle, a coat or...1603, Plutarch, “The Banquet of the Seven Sages”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Philosophie, Commonlie Called, The Morals […], London: […] Arnold Hatfield, →OCLC, page 337
2. (broadly) A woven fabric; also, the texture of a fabric.
   • [T]his is no lavv unto the vvoof of the neat Retiarie Spider, vvhich ſeems to vveave vvithout tranſverſion, and by the union of right lines to make out a continued ſurface, vvhich is beyond the common art of Textury, and may ſtill nettle Minerva the Godeſſe of that myſtery.1658, Thomas Browne, “The Garden of Cyrus. […]. Chapter II.”, in Hydriotaphia, Urne-buriall, […] Together with The Garden of Cyrus, […], London: […] Hen[ry] Brome […], →OCLC, pages 110–111
   • To ſpread the pall beneath the regal chair / Of ſofteſt vvoof, is bright Alcippe’s care.1725, Homer, “Book IV”, in [Elijah Fenton], transl., The Odyssey of Homer. […], volume I, London: […] Bernard Lintot, →OCLC, page 153, lines 163–164
3. (broadly, poetic) The thread or yarn used to form the weft of woven fabric; the fill, the weft.
   • [F]irſt I muſt put off / Theſe my skie robes ſpun out of Iris vvooffe, / And take the vveeds and likeneſſe of a Svvaine, […]1634 October 9 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), [John Milton], edited by H[enry] Lawes, A Maske Presented at Ludlow Castle, 1634: […] [Comus], London: […] [Augustine Matthews] for Hvmphrey...
   • Iris had dipt the wooff; / His ſtarrie Helme unbuckl'd ſhew'd him prime / In Manhood where Youth ended; […]1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished...
4. (obsolete, rare) Synonym of weaving (“the process of making woven material on a loom”).
   • Mean time Alcyone (his Fate unknovvn) / Computes hovv many Nights he had been gone, / […] / Againſt the promis'd Time provides vvith care, / And haſtens in the VVoof the Robes he vvas to vvear: / And for her Self employs another Loom, / Nevv-dreſs'd to meet her Lord returning home, / Flatt'ring her...1700, [John] Dryden, “Ceyx and Alcyone”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 370

   Synonyms:

   weaving

5. (figuratively) Something which is interwoven with another thing.
   • [T]he woof of self-interest is so cunningly interwoven with the warp of righteous feeling that very few of us can tell where the threads cross.1882, [Mary Elizabeth Braddon], “‘Alas for Me then, My Good Days are Done’”, in Mount Royal […], volume II, London: John and Robert Maxwell […], →OCLC, page 19
6. (figuratively) An underlying foundation or structure of something; a fabric.
   • The proces of that Oration was of the ſame woofe and thrid with the beginning; […]1596, Tho[mas] Nashe, “Dialogus”, in Haue with You to Saffron-Walden. Or, Gabriell Harveys Hunt is Up. […], London: […] John Danter, →OCLC; republished as J[ohn] P[ayne] C[ollier], editor, Have with...
   • Miſta black, terrific Maid, / Sangrida, and Hilda ſee, / Join the vvayvvard vvork to aid: / 'Tis the vvoof of victory.1761 (date written), [Thomas] Gray, “Ode VIII. The Fatal Sisters. From the Norse Tongue.”, in The Poems of Mr. Gray. […], York, Yorkshire: […] A[nn] Ward; and sold by J[ames] Dodsley, […]; and J[ohn]...

Verb (1)

woof (third-person singular simple present woofs, present participle woofing, simple past and past participle woofed)

1. (rare, transitive) To place (yarns) crosswise at right angles to and interlaced with the warp in a loom.
   • And warp well the long threads, / The bright threads, the strong threads; / Woof well the cross threads, / To make the colours shine.1894, Alice C[laire] MacDonell, “The Weaving of the Tartan”, in Elizabeth A[melia] Sharp, editor, Lyra Celtica: An Anthology of Representative Celtic Poetry […], Edinburgh: Patrick Geddes and...
   • After de yarn was spin, it was reeled off de spools into hanks and then took to de warper. Then she woofed it, warped it, and loomed it into cloth. Her make for yards in a day.1936–1938, W. W. Dixon, quoting Dan Smith, “Dan Smith: Ex-slave 75 Years [Project #1655]”, in Slave Narratives: A Folk History of Slavery in the United States from Interviews with Former Slaves […]...
2. (figuratively, rare, transitive) To interweave (something) with another thing; to weave (several things) together.
   • Here and there, where the land has not been cleared and the tide of dense swamp-forest closes upon the road, one gazes into the fearful tangle of vegetation, warped and woofed together by lianas and creeping plants of every description, and then realises what the work of clearing has been.1922 July, Mrs. Cecil Clementi [Marie Penelope Rose Eyres], “An Odyssey of Fourteen Rivers”, in Blackwood’s Magazine, American edition, volume CCXII, number MCCLXXXI, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard...
   • Many would contest the view (which [Patricia Nelson] Limerick shares with [Gerald D.] Nash) that the '60s generation was forged by some common experience, and warped and woofed into a programmatic consensus of evaluative priorities and analytical strategies.1997, Jerome Frisk, “The Theoretical (Re)Positions of the New Western History”, in Forrest G[len] Robinson, editor, The New Western History: The Territory Ahead, Tucson, Ariz.: University of Arizona...

Interjection (1)

1. (rare, transitive) Used to indicate the sound of a dog barking, or something resembling it.
   • Presently, from the depths of the bush behind us, came a loud "woof, woof!" "That's a lion," said I, and we all started up to listen.1885 September, H[enry] Rider Haggard, “An Elephant Hunt”, in King Solomon’s Mines, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, […], published 1887, →OCLC, page 55
   • "Woof" came another [anti-aircraft] shell, and then in quick succession another and another, the last one dead ahead and with such correct elevation that, a second later, the machine flashed through the streaming black smoke of the burst.1918, Boyd Cable [pseudonym], “Bring Home the ’Bus”, in Air Men o’ War, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 14
2. (humorous, rare, transitive) Used to express strong physical attraction for someone.
   • I see a hardworking man, with a smile that lights up a room—very sexy—woof!2015, Remmy Duchene, Love Me Harder, San Francisco, Calif.: Loose Id, →ISBN

Noun (2)

woof (plural woofs)

1. (rare, transitive) The sound a dog makes when barking; a bark.
2. (broadly, rare, transitive) A sound resembling a dog's bark.
   • He looked up and out a moment as there came to his ear, dully but unmistakably above the roar of the engine, the hoarse "woof" of a bursting anti-aircraft shell.1918, Boyd Cable [pseudonym], “Bring Home the ’Bus”, in Air Men o’ War, London: John Murray, […], →OCLC, page 14
   • Calls [of the mantled howler monkey] include woofs, grunts, barks, and howls. […] A series of loud, low barks or woofs precede the long roar.1997, Fiona A. Reid, “Monkeys (Order Primates)”, in A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America & Southeast Mexico, New York, N.Y.; Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 179...
   1. (broadly, rare, transitive, sound engineering) A low-frequency sound of bad quality produced by a loudspeaker.

Verb (2)

woof (third-person singular simple present woofs, present participle woofing, simple past and past participle woofed)

1. (figuratively, rare, transitive, African-American Vernacular) To say (something) in an aggressive or boastful manner.
2. (informal, rare, transitive, Royal Air Force slang) To eat (food) voraciously; to devour, to gobble, to wolf.
   • [N]othing makes me feel better than to see my dog's woofing down their food.2007 June 5, Patricia O’Grady, “Feeding a Homemade Diet”, in Woofing It Down: The Quick & Easy Guide to Making Healthy Dog Food at Home, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 23
   • The dog doesn't bark, it just stares at Tom. Tom pulls out the steaks. […] Tom throws them over and the dog woofs them down.2020, Ian Horan, “The Return of Tom Fuller”, in Psychotic Episodes: Another Collection of Crazy Stories, [Morrisville, N.C.: Lulu.com], →ISBN, page 64
3. (intransitive, rare, transitive) Of a dog: to bark.
   • A nondescript cur came out from behind the house, stopped in surprise, and started good-naturedly woof-woofing at me, his eyes slit, his shaggy belly all muddy, and then walked about a little and woofed once more.1955, Vladimir Nabokov, chapter 28, in Lolita, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam’s Sons, published August 1958, →OCLC, part 2, page 271
   • At the same time, Prince and Shep, who were a part of the household, whined and woofed a time or two, then rose from their rag mats to welcome me with dignity, quite unlike the savage malamutes that would have taken a pound of flesh and enjoyed it if their chains had snapped as I came up the lane.1988, May Wynne Lamb, “Arrival in Akiak”, in Dorothy Wynne Zimmerman, editor, Life in Alaska: The Reminiscences of a Kansas Woman, 1916–1919, Lincoln, Neb.; London: University of Nebraska Press...
4. (intransitive, rare, transitive) Of a person or thing: to make a sound resembling a dog's bark.
   • A few minutes later a new [grizzly] bear came out on the big log upstream— […] Within seconds she knew something was wrong. She woofed, bounded off the log and came raging down toward us through the timber. There, not far away, she smashed back and forth, woofing and growling.1963 November 8, Don Moser, “An Archer Stalks the Mighty Grizzly”, in Henry R[obinson] Luce, editor, Life, volume 55, number 19, Chicago, Ill.; New York, N.Y.: Time Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 115...
   • An abrupt, loud wuu is occasionally emitted by a startled animal. For example, […] a cub woofed after a lioness slapped it suddenly at a kill. Once a monitor lizard lashed its tail at the face of a lioness and she woofed as she jumped back.1972, George B[eals] Schaller, “Behavior within the Group”, in The Serengeti Lion: A Study of Predator–Prey Relations (Wildlife Behavior and Ecology Series), Chicago, Ill.: University of Chicago...
5. (figuratively, intransitive, rare, transitive, African-American Vernacular) To speak in an aggressive or boastful manner.
   • "Miss, you know uh heap uh dese hard heads wants to woof at you but dey skeered." / "How come, Mr. Pitts? Do I look like a bear or panther?" / "Naw, but dey say youse rich and dey ain't got de nerve to open dey mouf."1935, Zora Neale Hurston, “‘John Henry’”, in Mules and Men, 1st Perennial Library edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Row, published 1970, →OCLC, part I (Folk Tales), section III, page 89
   • Woofing, sometimes called "wolfing," is a communication strategy used to insult or threaten an opponent. […] Generally, woofing takes two forms. It can be an insult game or a demonstration of intimidation. […] Woofing builds esteem and identity, releases tension, and teaches self-control and verbal...2010, “Woofing/Wolfing”, in Jessie Carney Smith, editor, Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture, Santa Barbara, Calif.: Greenwood Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 1537

Interjection (2)

US/ʰᵿʰ/

1. (rare, transitive) Oof.
2. (rare, transitive) Phew.

Noun (3) capitalized: WOOF

WOOF

1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of well-off older folks.

Proper noun capitalized: WOOF

WOOF

1. (alternative) Alternative form of WWOOF; a network organization that helps wwoofers connect up with organic farms that are offering work opportunities.
   • They also run classes, pizza nights, and welcome WOOF (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) voluntary apprentices.2016, Chris Young, Slow Dough: Real Bread
   • Woofers are those who labour on organic farms within the World Organization of Organic Farms (WOOF) Network.2016, Marlyne Sahakian, Czarina Saloma, Suren Erkman, Food Consumption in the City, page 118