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saw1

[saw] /sɔ/
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
noun
1.
a tool or device for cutting, typically a thin blade of metal with a series of sharp teeth.
2.
any similar tool or device, as a rotating disk, in which a sharp continuous edge replaces the teeth.
verb (used with object), sawed, sawed or sawn, sawing.
3.
to cut or divide with a saw.
4.
to form by cutting with a saw.
5.
to make cutting motions as if using a saw:
to saw the air with one's hands.
6.
to work (something) from side to side like a saw.
verb (used without object), sawed, sawed or sawn, sawing.
7.
to use a saw.
8.
to cut with or as if with a saw.
9.
to cut as a saw does.
Idioms
10.
saw wood, Informal. to snore loudly while sleeping.
Origin of saw1
Middle English
Old English
1000
before 1000; (noun) Middle English sawe, Old English saga, *sagu; cognate with Dutch zaag, Old Norse sǫg; akin to German Säge saw, Latin secāre to cut (see section), Old English seax knife, sax2; (v.) Middle English sawen, derivative of the noun
Related forms
sawer, noun
sawlike, adjective

saw2

[saw] /sɔ/
verb
1.
simple past tense of see1 .

saw3

[saw] /sɔ/
noun
1.
a sententious saying; maxim; proverb:
He could muster an old saw for every occasion.
Origin
before 950; Middle English; Old English sagu; cognate with German Sage, Old Norse saga saga; akin to say1

see1

[see] /si/
verb (used with object), saw, seen, seeing.
1.
to perceive with the eyes; look at.
2.
to view; visit or attend as a spectator:
to see a play.
3.
to perceive by means of computer vision.
4.
to scan or view, especially by electronic means:
The satellite can see the entire southern half of the country.
5.
to perceive (things) mentally; discern; understand:
to see the point of an argument.
6.
to construct a mental image of; visualize:
He still saw his father as he was 25 years ago.
7.
to accept or imagine or suppose as acceptable:
I can't see him as president.
8.
to be cognizant of; recognize:
to see the good in others; to see where the mistake is.
9.
to foresee:
He could see war ahead.
10.
to ascertain, learn, or find out:
See who is at the door.
11.
to have knowledge or experience of:
to see service in the foreign corps.
12.
to make sure:
See that the work is done.
13.
to meet and converse with:
Are you seeing her at lunch today?
14.
to receive as a visitor:
The ambassador finally saw him.
15.
to visit:
He's gone to see his aunt.
16.
to court, keep company with, or date frequently:
They've been seeing each other for a long time.
17.
to provide aid or assistance to; take care of:
He's seeing his brother through college.
18.
to attend or escort:
to see someone home.
19.
Cards. to match (a bet) or match the bet of (a bettor) by staking an equal sum; call:
I'll see your five and raise you five more.
20.
to prefer (someone or something) to be as indicated (usually used as a mild oath):
I'll see you in hell before I sell you this house. He'll see the business fail before he admits he's wrong.
21.
to read or read about:
I saw it in the newspaper.
verb (used without object), saw, seen, seeing.
22.
to have the power of sight.
23.
to be capable of perceiving by means of computer vision.
24.
to understand intellectually or spiritually; have insight:
Philosophy teaches us to see.
25.
to give attention or care:
See, there it goes.
26.
to find out; make inquiry:
Go and see for yourself.
27.
to consider; think; deliberate:
Let me see, how does that song go?
28.
to look about; observe:
They heard the noise and came out to see.
Verb phrases
29.
see about,
  1. to investigate; inquire about.
  2. to turn one's attention to; take care of:
    He said he would see about getting the license plates.
30.
see after, to attend to; take care of:
Will you please see after my plants while I'm away?
31.
see off, to take leave of someone setting out on a journey; accompany to the place of departure:
I went to the airport to see them off.
32.
see out, to remain with (a task, project, etc.) until its completion:
We decided to see it out, even if it meant another year.
33.
see through,
  1. to penetrate to the true nature of; comprehend; detect:
    He quickly saw through my story.
  2. to stay with to the end or until completion; persevere:
    to see a difficult situation through.
34.
see to, to take care of; be responsible for:
I'll see to the theater tickets.
Origin
before 900; Middle English seen, Old English sēon; cognate with Dutch zien, German sehen, Old Norse sjā, Gothic saihwan
Related forms
seeable, adjective
seeableness, noun
unseeable, adjective
Synonyms
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
1. observe, notice, distinguish, discern, behold, regard. See watch. 5. comprehend, penetrate. 10. determine. 11. know, undergo. 18. accompany.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2017.
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Examples from the Web for saw
Contemporary Examples
Historical Examples

  • They would take off their hats, and make the humblest bows you ever saw.

    The Miraculous Pitcher Nathaniel Hawthorne

  • Who saw its fires here rise, and there descend, Explain his own beginning, or his end?

    Essay on Man Alexander Pope

  • For a moment he saw the little island with a great cloud above it.

    A Spirit in Prison Robert Hichens

  • It was dim in the starlight, but he saw that she smiled slightly.

    Still Jim Honor Willsie Morrow

  • She shook her head at him wearily, and he saw undried tears on her cheeks.

    The Education of Eric Lane Stephen McKenna
British Dictionary definitions for saw

saw1

/sɔː/
noun
1.
any of various hand tools for cutting wood, metal, etc, having a blade with teeth along one edge
2.
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 saws, sawing, sawed, sawed, sawn
3.
to cut with a saw
4.
to form by sawing
5.
to cut as if wielding a saw: to saw the air
6.
to move (an object) from side to side as if moving a saw
Derived Forms
sawer, noun
sawlike, adjective
Word Origin
Old English sagu; related to Old Norse sog, Old High German saga, Latin secāre to cut, secūris axe

saw2

/sɔː/
verb
1.
the past tense of see1

saw3

/sɔː/
noun
1.
a wise saying, maxim, or proverb
Word Origin
Old English sagu a saying; related to saga

SAW

abbreviation
1.
surface acoustic wave

see1

/siː/
verb sees, seeing, saw, seen
1.
to perceive with the eyes
2.
(when transitive, may take a clause as object) to perceive (an idea) mentally; understand: I explained the problem but he could not see it
3.
(transitive) to perceive with any or all of the senses: I hate to see you so unhappy
4.
(transitive; may take a clause as object) to be aware of in advance; foresee: I can see what will happen if you don't help
5.
(when transitive, may take a clause as object) to ascertain or find out (a fact); learn: see who is at the door
6.
when tr, takes a clause as object; when intr, foll by to. to make sure (of something) or take care (of something): see that he gets to bed early
7.
(when transitive, may take a clause as object) to consider, deliberate, or decide: see if you can come next week
8.
(transitive) to have experience of; undergo: he had seen much unhappiness in his life
9.
(transitive) to allow to be in a specified condition: I cannot stand by and see a child in pain
10.
(transitive) to be characterized by: this period of history has seen much unrest
11.
(transitive) to meet or pay a visit to: to see one's solicitor
12.
(transitive) to receive, esp as a guest or visitor: the Prime Minister will see the deputation now
13.
(transitive) to frequent the company of: she is seeing a married man
14.
(transitive) to accompany or escort: I saw her to the door
15.
(transitive) to refer to or look up: for further information see the appendix
16.
(in gambling, esp in poker) to match (another player's bet) or match the bet of (another player) by staking an equal sum
17.
as far as I can see, to the best of my judgment or understanding
18.
(takes an infinitive) see fit, to consider proper, desirable, etc: I don't see fit to allow her to come here
19.
(informal) see someone hanged first, see someone damned first, to refuse absolutely to do what one has been asked
20.
(Brit, informal) see someone right, to ensure fair treatment of (someone): if he has cheated you, I'll see you right
21.
see the light, see the light of day, See light1 (sense 24)
22.
see you, see you later, be seeing you, an expression of farewell
23.
(informal) you see, a parenthetical filler phrase used to make a pause in speaking or add slight emphasis
See also see about, see into, see of, see off, see out, see over, see through
Derived Forms
seeable, adjective
Word Origin
Old English sēon; related to Old Norse sjā, Gothic saihwan, Old Saxon sehan

see2

/siː/
noun
1.
the diocese of a bishop, or the place within it where his cathedral or procathedral is situated See also Holy See
Word Origin
C13: from Old French sed, from Latin sēdēs a seat; related to sedēre to sit
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word Origin and History for saw
n.

toothed cutting tool, Old English sagu, from Proto-Germanic *sago "a cutting tool" (cf. Old English seax "knife," Old Norse sög, Norwegian sag, Danish sav, Swedish såg, Middle Dutch saghe, Dutch zaag, Old High German saga, German Säge "saw"), from PIE root *sek- "to cut" (cf. Latin secare "to cut," Russian sech' "to cut;" see section (n.)).

"proverb, saying, maxim," Old English sagu "saying, discourse, speech, study, tradition, tale," from Proto-Germanic *saga-, *sagon- (cf. Middle Low German, Middle Dutch sage, zage, German Sage "legend, fable, saga, myth, tradition," Old Norse saga "story, tale, saga"), from PIE root *sek(w)- "to say, utter" (see say (v.)).

v.

past tense of see; from Old English plural sawon.

n.2

"proverb, saying, maxim," Old English sagu "saying, discourse, speech, study, tradition, tale," from Proto-Germanic *saga-, *sagon- (cf. Middle Low German, Middle Dutch sage, zage, German Sage "legend, fable, saga, myth, tradition," Old Norse saga "story, tale, saga"), from PIE root *sek(w)- "to say, utter" (see say (v.)).

v.

"cut with a saw," c.1300, perhaps c.1200, from saw (n.1). Strong conjugation began 15c. on model of draw, etc. Related: Sawed; sawing. Sawed-off "short, cut short" is attested 1887 of persons, 1898 of shotguns.

v.

past tense of see; from Old English plural sawon.

see

v.

Old English seon "to see, look, behold; observe, perceive, understand; experience, visit, inspect" (contracted class V strong verb; past tense seah, past participle sewen), from Proto-Germanic *sekhwanan (cf. Old Saxon, Old High German sehan, Middle High German, German sehen, Old Frisian sia, Middle Dutch sien, Old Norse sja, Gothic saihwan), from PIE root *sekw- (2) "to see," which is probably identical with *sekw- (1) "to follow" (see sequel), a root which produced words for "say" in Greek and Latin, and also words for "follow" (cf. Latin sequor), but "opinions differ in regard to the semantic starting-point and sequences" [Buck]. Thus see might originally mean "follow with the eyes."

Used in Middle English to mean "behold in the imagination or in a dream" (c.1200), "to recognize the force of (a demonstration)," also c.1200. Sense of "escort" (e.g. to see someone home) first recorded 1607 in Shakespeare. Meaning "to receive as a visitor" is attested from c.1500. Gambling sense of "equal a bet" is from 1590s. See you as a casual farewell first attested 1891. Let me see as a pausing statement is recorded from 1510s. To have seen everything as a hyperbolic expression of astonishment is from 1957.

When you have seen one of their Pictures, you have seen all. [Blake, c.1811]

n.

c.1300, "throne of a bishop, archbishop, or pope," also "throne of a monarch, a goddess, Antichrist, etc.," from Old French sie "seat, throne; town, capital; episcopal see," from Latin sedem (nominative sedes) "seat, throne, abode, temple," related to sedere "to sit" (see sedentary). Early 14c. as "administrative center of a bishopric;" c.1400 as "province under the jurisdiction of a bishop."

see

n.

c.1300, "throne of a bishop, archbishop, or pope," also "throne of a monarch, a goddess, Antichrist, etc.," from Old French sie "seat, throne; town, capital; episcopal see," from Latin sedem (nominative sedes) "seat, throne, abode, temple," related to sedere "to sit" (see sedentary). Early 14c. as "administrative center of a bishopric;" c.1400 as "province under the jurisdiction of a bishop."

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang definitions & phrases for saw

saw

noun

  1. sawbuck (1940s+)
  2. he landlord of a rooming house (1950s+ Black)

Related Terms

double sawbuck

see

noun

  1. Recognition; complimentary notice by a superior: He was a good cop ten years, but never got a see (1950s+ Police)
  2. A visit of inspection: numerous ''sees'' or visits from the sergeant (1930+ Police)

verb

  1. To pay protection money or graft: doing business without ''seeing the cops'' (1930+ Police)
  2. To equal a bet or a raise rather than dropping out of the game (1599+ Gambling)

Related Terms

long time no see, a look-see, look see

[first noun sense perhaps an abbreviation of commendation]

The Dictionary of American Slang, Fourth Edition by Barbara Ann Kipfer, PhD. and Robert L. Chapman, Ph.D.
Copyright (C) 2007 by HarperCollins Publishers.
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Idioms and Phrases with saw

saw

see: old saw

see

also see:
also see under:
seen
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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