saw
noun
a tool or device for cutting, typically a thin blade of metal with a series of sharp teeth.
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:
Trailing a play in transition during the third quarter, Kessler saw Doncic methodically probing the lane.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Alec Samways, CEO of London-based Splendid Communications, says they usually get three to four hundred applications for three places on their annual intern programme but last year they saw triple the numbers.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
He was in bed at the Brooklyn apartment he shares with his partner, writer Nicholas Boggs, when he saw the word masterpiece and his mind “totally went blank.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
“That was the last time I ever saw her,” Acton told the Vindicator, her hometown newspaper in Youngstown, when she was selected by DeWine as the state’s health director.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 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
But the most appealing option — at least, for SAW — remains a return to high school football in the fall.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 2, 2020
“HE SAW HER LIVE,” an ad for the event read, using the same image.
From New York Times ● Jan. 21, 2018
YOU are the one who did something wrong, I say, because I SAW him push William H. out of his Personal Space.
From "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine
Alan Dorfman held an Etch A Sketch over a laundry tub, picked up a hacksaw and sawed the device in half, spilling silver powder everywhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026
But it also means that the horns grow back and need to be sawed off repeatedly.
From BBC ● Dec. 5, 2025
He came, he sawed, he conq—well, he left.
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2025
The crews working on electric vehicles disconnected the voltage cables to air bags and seat belts, sawed off the tops of the cars, and flipped the vehicles over to access the battery packs underneath.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2025
Somebody had sawed through a post on the pony shed.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
The competition, which Hayward has been hosting since 1960, brings people from across America and around the world together to showcase their skills in everything from logrolling, chopping and sawing to speed climbing.
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
That’s like sawing the magician in half and never putting them back together again.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
The high-pitched sound of an angle grinder sawing through glass echoed through the hall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
She lay awake most of the night listening to Rachel cough, the sound rasping and sawing through her own body.
From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson
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
Hampered by his left knee for so long, he had just got back to chest-pumping all-rounder status in the home summer when he was sawn off by his hamstring.
From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2024
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
I entered the immaculate little shop, redolent of freshly sawn pine and oak, and found him working at a shrieking band saw.
From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam
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