paw
1 Americannoun
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the foot of an animal having claws.
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the foot of any animal.
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Informal. the human hand, especially one that is large, rough, or clumsy.
Keep your paws off my property.
verb (used with object)
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paws,
present (3rd person singular)
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pawed,
past participle, past
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pawing
present participle
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to strike or scrape with the paws or feet.
a dog pawing the door.
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Informal. to handle or caress clumsily, rudely, or with unwelcome familiarity.
verb (used without object)
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paws,
present (3rd person singular)
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pawed,
past participle, past
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pawing
present participle
-
to beat or scrape the floor, ground, etc., with the paws or feet.
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Informal. to handle or caress someone or something in a clumsy or rude manner or with unwelcome familiarity.
noun
noun
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any of the feet of a four-legged mammal, bearing claws or nails
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informal a hand, esp one that is large, clumsy, etc
verb
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to scrape or contaminate with the paws or feet
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informal (tr) to touch or caress in a clumsy, rough, or overfamiliar manner; maul
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pawsimple
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pawssimple
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have pawedperfect
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has pawedperfect
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am pawingprogressive
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are pawingprogressive
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is pawingprogressive
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have been pawingperfect progressive
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has been pawingperfect progressive
Past
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pawedsimple
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had pawedperfect
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was pawingprogressive
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were pawingprogressive
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had been pawingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of paw1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English pau(w)e, poue, from Middle French po(u)e (cognate with Provençal pauta ), from Germanic; compare Dutch poot, German Pfote
Origin of paw2
First recorded in 1820–30; earlier and dialect pronunciation of pa
Explanation
A paw is a four-legged animal's foot. Dogs, cats, rabbits, and bears all have paws. Sharks? Not so much. Most paws have claws and soft pads that cushion the animal's legs as it walks. Cats' paws have sharp, retractable claws, while dogs have hard, dull claws that don't retract. There are also many animals with four legs that don't have paws, like horses and lizards. If an animal paws you, it nudges or scrapes you with its paw. If a person paws you, they use their hands clumsily, almost as if they were paws.
Vocabulary lists containing paw
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:
As Professor Mitchell puts it: "The connections between dogs on the one paw and people dependent on wild plant and animal resources on the other are ancient, diverse, and profound."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
He spun so much that I had to put a bootie on his back right foot because Cosmo wore down his paw pad until it bled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
During his run, he said, he was taken aback by sights such as a North Korean raising a poodle’s paw to wave at runners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
There is now a statue of Ruswarp the border collie, who signed the petition with his paw, and was classed as a paying passenger.
From BBC ● May 1, 2026
He laid a paw on the badger’s shoulder.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The male bear—later identified as a known burglar named Judy—moseyed into a bathroom, put its paws on the counter and sniffed a tube of toothpaste before leaving.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
These hairs are especially common behind the ears, beneath the lips, and near the base of the paws.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 14, 2026
Pets are also at risk, with authorities recommending dogs remain indoors except for bathroom breaks, and warning owners to watch for hot asphalt that can burn paws.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
The charity also recommends the pavement test: if you can't comfortably hold your hand on the ground for five seconds, it's too hot for your dog's paws, external.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
His paws flew up, shocked by the pain.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
I pawed through the outer lands of my mother’s closet before asking if I could alter a navy trapeze-style dress she no longer wore.
From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2026
The animal stopped at the boardwalk, shook its head and pawed the ground.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2022
The paint changed hands, the tempo rose, the men pawed each other freely, using touch and color to shake off their invisibility.
From New York Times ● May 12, 2022
A front-end loader pawed at a pile of scrap metal several stories high and heaped all the way to the river’s edge.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 29, 2019
Mormont pawed through them brusquely, giving each no more than a glance and a grunt.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
The chord progression and clattery percussion on “Dead Women” evoke “Lay Lady Lay,” while Mitski’s song imagines someone pawing through her things after death, trying to uncover her secrets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
These are not easy shoes to step into, but Foster spends much of her time onstage barefoot, pawing her way into the part with those dirty, bare-soled, hilariously expressive feet of hers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2024
All he’s doing with this feral pawing for a message is frittering that away.
From Slate ● Aug. 3, 2024
The ball was rolled into Mehmeti in the D on the edge of the box, moved it on to his left foot and then unleashed a shot which left Hermansen pawing at air.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2024
Though Aunt Fanny Hamline outweighed his horse, with all eight of us and Tansy pushing the wagon and pulling on the rope and the horse straining and pawing the road, we showed some progress.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
