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View synonyms for hew

hew

1

[ hyooor, often, yoo ]

verb (used with object)

, hewed, hewed or hewn, hew·ing.
  1. to strike forcibly with an ax, sword, or other cutting instrument; chop; hack.
  2. to make, shape, smooth, etc., with cutting blows:

    to hew a passage through the crowd; to hew a statue from marble.

    Synonyms: form

  3. to sever (a part) from a whole by means of cutting blows (usually followed by away, off, out, from, etc.):

    to hew branches from the tree.

  4. to cut down; fell:

    to hew wood; trees hewed down by the storm.



verb (used without object)

, hewed, hewed or hewn, hew·ing.
  1. to strike with cutting blows; cut:

    He hewed more vigorously each time.

  2. to uphold, follow closely, or conform (usually followed by to ):

    to hew to the tenets of one's political party.

HEW

2

HEW

1

abbreviation for

  1. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
“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


hew

2

/ hjuː /

verb

  1. to strike (something, esp wood) with cutting blows, as with an axe
  2. troften foll byout to shape or carve from a substance
  3. tr; often foll by away, down, from, off, etc to sever from a larger or another portion
  4. introften foll byto to conform (to a code, principle, etc)
“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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Derived Forms

  • ˈhewer, noun
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Other Words From

  • hewa·ble adjective
  • hewer noun
  • un·hewa·ble adjective
  • un·hewed adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hew1

First recorded before 900; Middle English hewen, Old English hēawan; cognate with German hauen, Old Norse hǫggva; akin to haggle
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hew1

Old English hēawan; related to Old Norse heggva, Old Saxon hāwa, Old High German houwan, Latin cūdere to beat
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Synonym Study

See cut.
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Example Sentences

That may make them more likely to, collectively, hew to a more moderate path when giving odds on the election.

Designers hew to their legacies for fall lines, while Armani argues against his reputation for elegance.

After Jobs left, Scully says, the company tried to hew to his design philosophy.

Behind all the finger-wagging is the idea that movies about history need to hew to facts.

His object was to reach Allahabad that night—not to hew his way through opposing hordes and risk being cut down in the process.

Draw the belt tighter, my son, and hew me out this tree that is fallen across the road, for our campground is not here.

Then bade the King his men hew the ice and release his ships into the lake, and so went the men and set to work to hew the ice.

Look at the swagger of the vagabond who commands his braves, would you not think he was about to hew down everything in sight?

The other man was negligible—a bovine lump of flesh without personality—born to hew wood and draw water for men of enterprise.

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Hevesyhewers of wood and drawers of water