haw.
An imitation of laughter, often used to express scorn or disbelief. Often doubled or tripled (haw haw or haw haw haw).
Meaning & usage
An imitation of laughter, often used to express scorn or disbelief. Often doubled or tripled (haw haw or haw haw haw).
You think that song was good? Haw!
An intermission or hesitation of speech, with a sound somewhat like "haw"; the sound so made.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English ha (interjection). Compare Old Norse há (interjection), Middle Low German ha, hā (interjection), Old High German aha, hei (interjection).
To stop, in speaking, with a sound like haw; to speak with interruption and hesitation.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English ha (interjection). Compare Old Norse há (interjection), Middle Low German ha, hā (interjection), Old High German aha, hei (interjection).
Fruit of the hawthorn.
A hedge.
Something that has little value or importance; a whit or jot.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English hawe, from Old English haga (“enclosure, hedge”), from Proto-Germanic *hagô (compare West Frisian haach, Dutch haag, German Hag (“hedged farmland”), Norwegian Bokmål hage (“garden”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰom (compare Welsh cae (“field”), Latin caulae (“sheepfold, enclosure”), cohum (“strap between plowbeam and yoke”), Russian кош (koš, “tent”), коша́ра (košára, “sheepfold”), Sanskrit कक्ष (kakṣa, “curtain wall”)), from *kagʰ- 'to catch, grasp' (compare Welsh cau (“to clasp”), Oscan kahad (“may he seize”).
An instruction for a horse or other animal to turn towards the driver, typically left.
Where this word comes from
Assumed to be interjectory, but compare Old English hawian (“to observe, look”)
To turn towards the driver, typically to the left.
This horse won't haw when I tell him to.
To cause (an animal) to turn left.
You may have to go to the front of the pack and physically haw the lead dog.
Where this word comes from
Assumed to be interjectory, but compare Old English hawian (“to observe, look”)
The third eyelid, or nictitating membrane.
A disease of the nictitating membrane.
Where this word comes from
Late Middle English (denoting a discharge from the eye), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Etymology 2 above, describing a berry.
Try it on your idea.
haw has 3 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.
These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.
Explore the name generatorA word with a source.
Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.