hew
verb (used with object)
to strike forcibly with an ax, sword, or other cutting instrument; chop; hack.
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hew
1 American
[hyoo, yoo]
/ hju, ju /
verb (used with object)
-
hews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hewed,
past participle, past
-
hewn,
past participle
-
hewing
present participle
-
to strike forcibly with an ax, sword, or other cutting instrument; chop; hack.
-
to make, shape, smooth, etc., with cutting blows.
to hew a passage through the crowd; to hew a statue from marble.
- Synonyms:
- form
-
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.
-
to cut down; fell.
to hew wood; trees hewed down by the storm.
verb (used without object)
-
hews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hewed,
past participle, past
-
hewn,
past participle
-
hewing
present participle
-
to strike with cutting blows; cut.
He hewed more vigorously each time.
-
to uphold, follow closely, or conform (usually followed byto ).
to hew to the tenets of one's political party.
HEW
2
American
abbreviation
hew
1
British
/ hjuː /
verb
-
to strike (something, esp wood) with cutting blows, as with an axe
-
to shape or carve from a substance
-
(tr; often foll by away, down, from, off, etc) to sever from a larger or another portion
-
to conform (to a code, principle, etc)
HEW
2
British
abbreviation
Synonym Usage
See cut.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hewsimple
-
hewssimple
-
have hewedperfect
-
have hewnperfect
-
has hewedperfect
-
has hewnperfect
-
am hewingprogressive
-
are hewingprogressive
-
is hewingprogressive
-
have been hewingperfect progressive
-
has been hewingperfect progressive
Past
-
hewedsimple
-
had hewedperfect
-
had hewnperfect
-
was hewingprogressive
-
were hewingprogressive
-
had been hewingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hew
First recorded before 900; Middle English hewen, Old English hēawan; cognate with German hauen, Old Norse hǫggva; akin to haggle
Explanation
If you're a lumberjack, the word hew is nothing new. You hew things every day with one swift swing of the axe, chopping and shaping wood. It's said that Paul Bunyan hewed the Grand Canyon by dragging his giant mythical axe behind him. But usually things are hewn with a little more purpose — with each chop and cut designed to shape, sculpt, or craft a final product. Take the axe out of the picture though, and this word takes on a different meaning. If you're trying to adhere to rules, stick to a budget, or conform to a certain tradition, you can use hew, too.
Vocabulary lists containing hew
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Figurative Language in King's "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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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:
The experiences of Semple’s characters hew closely to her own, and when she’s not happy, neither are they.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
The deals appear to closely hew to the same lines as the earlier deals with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which were seen as significant wins for the industry.
From Barron's ● Dec. 19, 2025
With changes to tax law, the Dec. 31 deadline has become almost arbitrary, yet people still hew to old habits.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 19, 2025
They dig deep and meandering tunnels - and hew out rocks to sell to mostly Chinese buyers, who then extract copper.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2025
Ernest had sought to get Time to hew to his practice of spreading credit broadly, but was only partially successful.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Bike storage and shower facilities at the GSA and HEW buildings were rarely used.
From Washington Post ● Aug. 30, 2017
But, while programs like Medicare did become integral parts of American society, HEW did have too much on its plate: about a decade later, it was split into two separate agencies.
From Time ● Jan. 17, 2017
HEW Secretary John Gardner, recognizing the enormity of the task, decided to call in as much staff as necessary to enforce the law, Smith says.
From US News ● Jul. 29, 2015
There is much less likelihood that HEW would be capitive to agribusiness interests.
From New York Times ● Dec. 12, 2014
My presence was noted each fall by the campus press office in its proud tally of Hispanic-American students enrolled; my progress was followed by HEW statisticians.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
In an article, they note that the definition used in the measure hews closely to another section of California law, which distinguishes providing internet services from offering content, services and applications online.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Zoe Kazan’s Cathy, which closely hews to Steinbeck’s original vision, defies easy assumptions about a woman’s wants and needs.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
In the third volume of her Diaspora Quartet, Lee follows the Koh family from Australia to Korea to the United States as their paterfamilias John hews to his strong inner compass.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Taking his cue from Richard Hofstadter, an influential 20th-century American historian and Roosevelt revisionist, Mr. Brown hews largely to contrary opinions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
This they did, and presently came to the hero with the hews that the man lived and desired to speak with his deliverer.
From Boycotted And Other Stories by Talbot Baines Reed
Indeed, Walker’s Bitcoin origin story hewed closely to a common template in the Bitcoin community.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Chaucer, Shakespeare and Milton are examples of authors who hewed closely to writers who had come before them.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
A less-frequent Gallup survey specifically about whether the stock market will rise in the next six months hewed to the same pattern.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
Selfies were becoming more prevalent as social media grew, and standards of beauty hewed close to celebrity Kim Kardashian’s looks, especially in regards to eye makeup and products used for face contouring.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026
Only the charge of Dol Amroth had saved him from the red southland swords that would have hewed him as he lay.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Video released by the US Justice Department shows apparently well-made concrete steps leading into the tunnel, which appears to be hewn from rock and with a concrete floor.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
But when he got it right, his lyrics had an aphoristic directness that made them seem more hewn than written.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
Its throwing arm, currently at 12 o’clock, weighs 360 pounds and is not hewn or sanded; knots are visible in the wood.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025
Imagine running your fingers over the jagged grey marble from which two gladiatrices were hewn thousands of years ago.
From Salon ● Nov. 26, 2024
Dumbledore reached inside it and pulled out a large, roughly hewn wooden cup.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
Though far from being a “gritty” period drama, “Little House” does attempt to capture the realities and complexities of its place and time, while still hewing to Wilder’s original themes of resilience, hope and family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
Johann Sebastian Bach composed some of his best works by hewing to a self-imposed fugal format.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026
Some vessels have exited the strait after making a brief diversion through a channel between two islands off Iran’s coast, Larak and Qeshm, and hewing close to Iran’s coast.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 17, 2026
But being a politician occasionally requires actual leadership, which means working to persuade voters of the merits of a position, rather than reflexively hewing to public opinion at any given moment.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025
"Here is one," cried a young man, and immediately he set to work, hewing down the shrubs and bushes to which Digby pointed.
From The Smuggler: (Vol's I-III) A Tale by G. P. R. (George Payne Rainsford) James
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