saw

¹

[saw]

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, sawn, sawing. 

1. to cut or divide with a saw.

2. to form by cutting with a saw.

3. to make cutting motions as if using a saw.

   to saw the air with one's hands.

4. to work (something) from side to side like a saw.

verb (used without object)

sawed, sawed, sawn, sawing. 

1. to use a saw.

2. to cut with or as if with a saw.

3. to cut as a saw does.

saw

²

[saw]

verb

1. simple past tense of see.

saw

³

[saw]

noun

1. a sententious saying; maxim; proverb.

   He could muster an old saw for every occasion.

saw

¹

/ 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

1. to cut with a saw

2. to form by sawing

3. to cut as if wielding a saw

   to saw the air

4. to move (an object) from side to side as if moving a saw

SAW

²

abbreviation

1. surface acoustic wave

saw

³

/ sɔː /

verb

1. the past tense of see 1

saw

⁴

/ sɔː /

noun

1. a wise saying, maxim, or proverb

Other Word Forms

• sawer noun
• sawlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of saw¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun sau(e), soue, zaue, Old English saga, sagu; cognate with Dutch zaag, Old Norse sǫg, German Säge, all meaning “saw”; akin to Latin secāre “to cut,” Old English seax “short sword, knife, dagger”; the verb is derivative of the noun; sax ², section

Origin of saw²

First recorded before 950; Middle English sau(e), sauhe, sagh(e) “talk, words, something said,” Old English sagu “a saying, speech, narrative”; cognate with German Sage “legend, fable, myth, tradition,” Old Norse saga “statement, tale, story, history”; saga, say ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of saw¹

Old English sagu; related to Old Norse sog, Old High German saga, Latin secāre to cut, secūris axe

Origin of saw²

Old English sagu a saying; related to _saga

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. saw wood, to snore loudly while sleeping.

see old saw.

Example Sentences

“You can make a three, and that’s a great thing. But if that’s who you are and you don’t do all that other stuff, you saw where he was at Michigan State.”

From Los Angeles Times

This saw the south Wales valleys' numerous coal mines close for two weeks in the summer, prompting families to head to the coast for their annual holiday.

From BBC

When I saw UCLA’s game against Penn State was being designated a “Blue Out,” I figured it had to be a typo.

From Los Angeles Times

“You know when that clock hits midnight that carriage is going to turn into a pumpkin. You don’t have an answer. You kind of saw that against New York.”

From Los Angeles Times

When a letter from the BBC proposing the production landed on the desk of Lesley Callaghan, the club's head of PR, she and the board saw it as an opportunity to document a "historic moment".

From BBC

Related Words

• saying