womp womp
1
9.9
- idiom
- Informal
:
ay
- After her phone died right before the concert, she shook her head and muttered womp womp.
Examples
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Everyone groaned and said womp womp when the plan was rejected.
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womp womp!
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He failed the quiz, so his friend teased him with a dramatic womp womp.
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womp womp.
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After the team failed to score, the crowd let out a collective, womp womp.
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When his joke fell flat, he shrugged and let out a quiet, womp womp.
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She missed the final catch in the game, and her friends responded with a sympathetic, womp womp.
Synonyms
233
1.9
A low unhappy sound showing pain, discomfort or dislike
140
7.4
To show sadness or feel sorry about something bad
7
9.5
A short spoken word people use to show mild annoyance or disappointment
1
9.9
A word you say to show regret, surprise, or disappointment
An exclamation said when something suddenly goes wrong
A deep sound people make when they are annoyed or disappointed
A low sound people make when they feel annoyed or disappointed
Antonyms
How Disappointing
Surface Forms
Morphology
womp + womp
The expression is an onomatopoeic, conventionalized sound effect and the constituent 'womp' is not a standard lexical item with a stable, transparent meaning. Even if a learner recognizes the word forms, the specific pragmatic use to signal disappointment or anticlimax is culturally conventional and not derivable from the parts, so it would be unpredictable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
Womp womp comes from a short, sad brass sound, like the low 'wah-wah' a trombone plays in cartoons and TV when something goes wrong. That's why people say womp womp to show 'disappointment' or a small 'letdown'.