whoo, woo

The words whoo, woo sound the same but have different meanings and spellings. Why do whoo, woo sound the same even though they are completely different words?

The answer is simple: whoo, woo are homophones of the English language.

whoo
  1. :: interjection

    An expression of delight.

  2. :: interjection

    The wailing cry of a ghost.

woo
  1. :: verb-transitive

    To seek the affection of with intent to romance.

  2. :: verb-transitive

    To seek to achieve; try to gain.

  3. :: verb-transitive

    To tempt or invite.

  4. :: verb-transitive

    To entreat, solicit, or importune.

Definitions from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License, from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition and Wordnik.

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About Homophones

Homophones (literally "same sound") are usually defined as words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of how they are spelled.

If they are spelled the same then they are also homographs (and homonyms); if they are spelled differently then they are also heterographs (literally "different writing").