chew

American  

[choo] / tʃu /

verb (used with object)

1. to crush or grind with the teeth; masticate.

2. to crush, damage, injure, etc., as if by chewing (often followed byup ).

   The faulty paper feeder chewed the letters up.

3. to make by or as if by chewing.

   The puppy chewed a hole in my slipper.

4. to meditate on; consider deliberately (often followed byover ).

   He chewed the problem over in his mind.

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verb (used without object)

1. to perform the act of crushing or grinding with the teeth.

2. Informal. to chew tobacco.

3. to meditate.

noun

1. an act or instance of chewing.

2. something chewed or intended for chewing.

   a chew of tobacco; taffy chews.

verb phrase

1. chew out to scold harshly.

   The sergeant chewed out the recruits.

idioms

1. chew the fat, to converse at length in a relaxed manner; chat: Also chew the rag.

   They liked to sit around chewing the fat.

chew British  

/ tʃuː /

verb

1. to work the jaws and teeth in order to grind (food); masticate

2. to bite repeatedly

   she chewed her nails anxiously

3. (intr) to use chewing tobacco

4. slang

   1. to argue over a point

   2. to talk idly; gossip

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noun

1. the act of chewing

2. something that is chewed

   a chew of tobacco

chew More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing chew

• bite off more than one can chew

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Other Word Forms

• chewable adjective
• chewer noun
• unchewed adjective
• well-chewed adjective

Etymology

Origin of chew

before 1000; Middle English chewen, Old English cēowan; cognate with Old High German kiuwan ( German kauen )

Example Sentences

These products, because they are so easy to chew and digest quickly, hit the brain rapidly and can have a strong effect on its reward system, which is involved in pleasure, motivation and learning.

From The Wall Street Journal

I hustled Karl out of the room, and away down the corridor, chewing him out soundly for wandering into Lizzie’s room like that, uninvited.

From Literature

Agents, which go into long conversations with themselves as they work through a task—often through trial-and-error—chew through tokens, the basic unit of inference.

From Barron's

Lloyd would pop up out of the ditch, chewing mint.

From Literature

He chewed the first one: it tasted sweet and nutty, but was barely a mouthful.

From Literature

Related Words

• bite
• chomp
• gnaw
• nibble