strew

[stroo]

verb (used with object)

strewed, strewn, strewed, strewing. 

1. to let fall in separate pieces or particles over a surface; scatter or sprinkle.

   to strew seed in a garden bed.

   Synonyms: broadcast
   Antonyms: reap, gather

2. to cover or overspread (a surface, place, etc.) with something scattered or sprinkled.

   to strew a floor with sawdust.

3. to be scattered or sprinkled over (a surface).

   Sawdust strewed the floor.

4. to spread widely; disseminate.

   to strew rumors among the troops.

strew

/ struː /

verb

1. to spread or scatter or be spread or scattered, as over a surface or area

Other Word Forms

• strewer noun
• understrew verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of strew¹

First recorded before 1000; Middle English strewen, Old English strewian; cognate with German streuen, Old Norse strā, Gothic straujan; akin to Latin sternere “to spread” ( stratum )

Word History and Origins

Origin of strew¹

Old English streowian; related to Old Norse strā, Old High German streuwen, Latin struere to spread

Synonym Study

See sprinkle.

Example Sentences

Shattered glass was still strewn across the road.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Debris from last night's violence can be seen strewn on the ground around the entrance, along with a burnt out Garda van.

Read more on BBC

Images show tyre tracks, disturbed earth and detritus strewn across the former compound.

Read more on BBC

The full research paper, 'A new tektite strewn field in Australia ejected from a volcanic arc impact crater 11 Myr ago', is published in Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Read more on Science Daily

Aerial footage broadcast by US media showed smoldering debris at the factory in Hickman County, Tennessee, with charred and mangled vehicles strewn across the facility.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• scatter 
• sprinkle