mew

¹ American  

[myoo] / mju /

noun

1. the tiny, high-pitched sound a cat or kitten makes.

2. the characteristic sound a gull makes.

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verb (used without object)

1. to make a mew or emit a similar sound.

mew ² American  

[myoo] / mju /

noun

1. a small gull, Larus canus, of Eurasia and northwestern North America.

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mew ³ American  

[myoo] / mju /

noun

1. a cage for hawks, especially while molting.

2. a pen in which poultry is fattened.

3. a place of retirement or concealment.

4. (usually used with a singular verb) mews,

   1. (formerly) an area of stables built around a small street.

   2. a street having small apartments converted from such stables.

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verb (used with object)

1. Archaic. to shut up in or as in a mew; confine; conceal (often followed byup ).

mew ⁴ American  

[myoo] / mju /

verb (used with or without object)

1. to shed (feathers); molt.

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mew ¹ British  

/ mjuː /

noun

1. a room or cage for hawks, esp while moulting

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verb

1. to confine (hawks or falcons) in a shelter, cage, etc, usually by tethering them to a perch

2. to confine, conceal

mew ² British  

/ mjuː /

verb

1. (intr) (esp of a cat) to make a characteristic high-pitched cry

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noun

1. such a sound

mew ³ British  

/ mjuː /

verb

1. (intr) (of hawks or falcons) to moult

2. obsolete (tr) to shed (one's covering, clothes, etc)

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mew ⁴ British  

/ mjuː /

noun

1. Also called: mew gull.   sea mew.  any seagull, esp the common gull, Larus canus

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Other Word Forms

• mewer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of mew¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English meuen; imitative

Origin of mew²

First recorded in before 900; Middle English; Old English mǣwe; cognate with German Müwe

Origin of mew³

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English mue, from Middle French, akin to muer “to molt”; see mew ⁴

Origin of mew⁴

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English mewen, from Old French muer “to molt,” from Latin mūtāre “to change”

Example Sentences

As a woman tells Mew, “the planet teeters on the brink of an appalling and irreversible alteration.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

The artist shared that his favorite Pokémon is Mewtwo, the genetically engineered clone of the mythical Pokémon Mew.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

GB divers Yasmin Harper and Scarlett Mew Jensen go in the women’s 3m synchro from 10:00.

From BBC • Jul. 24, 2024

Britain’s Scarlett Mew Jensen and Yasmin Harper claimed bronze at 281.70, edging out the American duo of Krysta Palmer and Alison Gibson by a mere 2.4 points.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 7, 2024

Perhaps there were wallflowers when Bishop Mew planted his orchard in the keep; but the pasque flower and other rarer blossoms which crowd round the base belong to the gardening of a later day.

From Highways and Byways in Surrey by Thomson, Hugh