Meaning

(ambitransitive) To chop away at; to whittle down; to mow down..

Definitions by Sense

1. (ambitransitive) To chop away at; to whittle down; to mow down.
2. (transitive) To shape; to form.
3. (transitive, US) To act according to, to conform to; usually construed with to.
4. (obsolete, rare) Destruction by cutting down or hewing.
5. (obsolete) Hue; colour.
6. (obsolete) Shape; form.

Example Sentences

Hew them to pieces, hack their bones asunder[…]

A favourite at the Old Bailey, and eke at the Sessions, Mr. Stryver had begun cautiously to hew away the lower staves of the ladder on which he mounted.

So that all men despised him in the streets, / He hewed the living rock, with sweat and tears,

My ways are hard and rough, and my arms are strong and tough, / And I hew the dizzy pine till darkness falls;

She flung back the fortnight on his hands as if he had been an idler indifferent to dates, instead of an active young diplomatist who, to respond to her call, had had to hew his way through a very jungle of engagements!

Among other things he found a sharp hunting knife, on the keen blade of which he immediately proceeded to cut his finger. Undaunted he continued his experiments, finding that he could hack and hew splinters of wood from the table and chairs with this new toy.

to hew out a sepulchre

Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousnesse, ye that seeke the Lord: looke vnto the rocke whence yee are hewen, and to the hole of the pitte whence ye are digged.

Word Forms

• hews
• hewing
• hewed
• hew
• hewn
• hewen

Synonyms for hew

Related Words

When Should You Use Hew?

Use hew when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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