Whew

Part of speech: interjection

Definitions

1. An expression of relief or astonishment often uttered after a stressful situation
2. A sound indicating that one has escaped a difficult or tense moment, often accompanied by a deep breath
3. An exclamatory word used to convey emotions of surprise or relaxation following a period of anxiety

Etymology: "Whew" is an imitative interjection, a sound made by blowing out breath to express relief or exhaustion, and it has no grand Latin or Greek ancestry. Its spelling reflects that origin: the "wh" is a historical spelling for the breathy sound that English once distinguished from plain "w," so the word is written as if it begins with a puff of air. The sound itself is far older than the written word. Interjections like this tend to appear in speech long before anyone records them, and dictionaries typically register them only when they start turning up in print. Because "whew" imitates a gust of breath rather than borrowing from another language, its origin is essentially onomatopoeic, which is why it reads the same way in many familiar contexts, from a tired hiker to a narrow escape.

Synonyms: phew, wow, oh, ah, alas