saw
noun
a tool or device for cutting, typically a thin blade of metal with a series of sharp teeth.
Showing results for "saw"
- past tense form of see.
saw
1 American
[saw]
/ sɔ /
noun
-
a tool or device for cutting, typically a thin blade of metal with a series of sharp teeth.
-
any similar tool or device, as a rotating disk, in which a sharp continuous edge replaces the teeth.
verb (used with object)
sawed,
sawed,
sawn,
sawing
-
to cut or divide with a saw.
-
to form by cutting with a saw.
-
to make cutting motions as if using a saw.
to saw the air with one's hands.
-
to work (something) from side to side like a saw.
verb (used without object)
sawed,
sawed,
sawn,
sawing
-
to use a saw.
-
to cut with or as if with a saw.
-
to cut as a saw does.
idioms
saw
2
American
[saw]
/ sɔ /
verb
saw
3
American
[saw]
/ sɔ /
noun
saw
1
British
/ sɔː /
noun
-
any of various hand tools for cutting wood, metal, etc, having a blade with teeth along one edge
-
any of various machines or devices for cutting by use of a toothed blade, such as a power-driven circular toothed wheel or toothed band of metal
verb
-
to cut with a saw
-
to form by sawing
-
to cut as if wielding a saw
to saw the air
-
to move (an object) from side to side as if moving a saw
SAW
2
British
abbreviation
saw
3
British
/ sɔː /
verb
saw
4
British
/ sɔː /
noun
saw
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of saw1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun sau(e), soue, zaue, Old English saga, sagu; cognate with Dutch zaag, Old Norse sǫg, German Säge, all meaning “saw”; akin to Latin secāre “to cut,” Old English seax “short sword, knife, dagger”; the verb is derivative of the noun; see also sax 2, section
Origin of saw3
First recorded before 950; Middle English sau(e), sauhe, sagh(e) “talk, words, something said,” Old English sagu “a saying, speech, narrative”; cognate with German Sage “legend, fable, myth, tradition,” Old Norse saga “statement, tale, story, history”; see also saga, say 1
Explanation
A saw is a tool that's used to cut wood. It can be a hand tool or a power tool, and it usually has either a blade or a disk with a jagged cutting edge. The verb saw means to cut through wood or another material using a saw or other tool. If you are going to build a bookcase, you have to saw the wood into the proper lengths. It's a good idea to measure it twice so you only have to saw it once. When you're faced with a tough piece of meat, you might have to saw at it just to cut off a bite.
Vocabulary lists containing saw
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
This week saw a new milestone when Nvidia and a host of Wall Street entities announced plans to deploy $500 billion of capital to provide financing at “attractive rates” for chip purchases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
His mother said they smelt smoke and when they saw their neighbours leaving their homes they ran for their lives.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
Experts say the abrupt about-face on California’s once-heralded nuclear exit reflects a broader trend as the state grapples with an electricity future almost no one saw coming.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
That old saw about being careful what you wish for comes to mind.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026
“I have to agree with your friend, Lexie. I didn’t use that word when I saw you last, because I didn’t think you were ready to hear it. That you were ready to accept that.”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Most existing SAW systems require two separate chips and an external power source.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2026
I SAW a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2022
THE 1990s SAW more growth and turmoil, including a passionate internecine conflict that nearly ripped the station in half and wound up in federal court.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 29, 2022
“HE SAW HER LIVE,” an ad for the event read, using the same image.
From New York Times ● Jan. 21, 2018
I SAW her across the room when I awoke, reading a newspaper, her glasses low across the bridge of her nose as she stared at the page intently.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
But it also means that the horns grow back and need to be sawed off repeatedly.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2025
In director Guillermo del Toro’s take on the classic fable Frankenstein, Elordi glows an undead white as the monster, his body a patchwork of human parts sawed off of Crimean War corpses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025
There’s no guarantee the Chargers will pass through the gate of golden opportunity, but this 2-0 team has sawed the lock off the latch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2025
He came, he sawed, he conq—well, he left.
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2025
He leaned over the fire and sawed a thin slice of meat from the kid.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Getting them entry into chopping and sawing block events as well took time, LaSalle explains.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Emergency workers stood on the charred roof, still smelling of burning, sawing off damaged sections and tossing the debris into a pile.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
The high-pitched sound of an angle grinder sawing through glass echoed through the hall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
This felt manageable until I found myself, a few weeks in, sawing at a kabocha squash with a butter knife.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025
Tiara sat on a rock, sawing through a section of hair with the machete.
From "Beauty Queens" by Libba Bray
While it is tougher to work with than natural timber, it can still be sawn in a traditional manner with carbide or diamond-tipped blades.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2025
It had been in my family for three generations — an upright of quarter sawn oak that probably hadn’t been properly tuned for years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2025
A statue of British naval officer James Cook, who in 1770 charted Sydney’s coast, was sawn off at the ankles, and a Queen Victoria monument was doused in red paint.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 25, 2024
Rift sawn white oak flooring grounds the space.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 10, 2022
The wild bushes that'd muffled the House in the Woods'd been sawn back to size.
From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
