caw
noun
the harsh, grating cry of the crow, raven, etc.
caw
American
[kaw]
/ kɔ /
noun
-
caws
plural
verb (used without object)
-
caws,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cawed,
past participle, past
-
cawing
present participle
caw
1
British
/ kɔː /
noun
verb
CAW
2
British
abbreviation
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cawsimple
-
cawssimple
-
have cawedperfect
-
has cawedperfect
-
am cawingprogressive
-
are cawingprogressive
-
is cawingprogressive
-
have been cawingperfect progressive
-
has been cawingperfect progressive
Past
-
cawedsimple
-
had cawedperfect
-
was cawingprogressive
-
were cawingprogressive
-
had been cawingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of caw
First recorded in 1580–90; imitative
Explanation
To caw is to make a loud cry or call, like the sound a crow makes. There are few things spookier than hearing fifty crows caw in your yard at night. Many large birds caw as a way of communicating with each other, but crows and ravens are best known for making this particular cry. You can call the actual sound a caw as well. The word has been around since the 16th century, when it arose as an imitation of the noise itself.
Vocabulary lists containing caw
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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:
Meyers was greeted each morning by a green parrot named Pesto, who became the shop’s mascot and would caw, “Hellllow!”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 4, 2025
Carrion crows can count out loud, effectively calling “one, two, three” as they caw, researchers report today in Science.
From Science Magazine ● May 22, 2024
Working out the sound of a crow’s caw, the pair seemed ready for their spotlight — at the most stylish comedy hour ever.
From New York Times ● Sep. 19, 2021
Forty-seven miles west of Barry and Po’s yard, seagulls caw and circle the property that was once Pungo district hospital.
From The Guardian ● May 25, 2018
In the distance, she heard the caw of a crow, over and over.
From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo
The site, which is currently almost completely demolished, is being renovated by social welfare group CAW Oost-Vlaanderen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
The clothes loaned to the organisers - victim support group CAW East Brabant - include tracksuit bottoms, pyjamas and dresses.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2018
Lewenza will remain in the spotlight in 2012 as the CAW engages in negotiations with the auto sector - including General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co.
From Reuters ● Feb. 3, 2012
It has fallen 38 percent since its last contract with the CAW expired Feb. 28.
From BusinessWeek ● Jun. 14, 2011
Mr. Tamba told her that he was the CAW chaperon going on the trip with us and that he would make sure that we returned to Sierra Leone at the end of the conference.
From "A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier" by Ishmael Beah
One 16th Century tale sees Saint Peter trick Welshmen with the call caws bobi - Welsh for roasted cheese - which he said reflected the dish's cultural ties to Wales.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2025
Estrildid finch songs, Japanese quail calls, squirrel monkey caws and even the ultrasonic vocalizations of house mice were used for comparison in the study.
From Salon ● Jan. 8, 2024
As scientists collect terabytes on terabytes of whale clicks and crow caws, they're hoping that deep learning can find patterns and meaning in the sounds that human beings have always missed.
From Scientific American ● Sep. 19, 2023
A bard crafts a sad ballad, And sang that ballad back: ’Twas a dark and sad and clammy day; A lark caws daftly, madly.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 10, 2022
In response it caws again and spreads its large wings, taking flight and swooping toward the stage, gaining speed as it approaches.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Blackbirds cawed from trees and flapped over block after block of destruction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 10, 2025
Dierks Bentley’s stomps on his porch in Colorado jiggled the camera and an off-camera crow cawed at him.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 5, 2020
Under diffused blue lighting, bartenders in short-sleeve lumberjack shirts sloshed drinks and the crowd cawed for an encore.
From New York Times ● Sep. 6, 2017
Crows in nearby trees cawed incessantly as the sisters considered what has happened here since the EPA arrived.
From Seattle Times ● May 24, 2010
It cawed at her, then cocked its head downward, toward the water.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Johnson pledges his devotion to tropes like cawing ravens and thunderous rainstorms while giving his various red herrings silly nicknames like “the knife robot” and “the clangy clunk.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
"These crows rise early and interrupt our sleep with their annoying squeals and cawing," Mombasa resident Victor Kimuli told the BBC.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2024
A tender study of loss told from the perspectives of its mourning characters, “Grief Is the Thing With Feathers” also features passages from the consciousness of an enormous, cawing bird.
From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2021
The noises of the Puget Sound filled the air: ship horns blowing, gulls cawing, music playing.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 20, 2021
The crescent of weather-beaten bird cages, the rusted chairs left on the back porch, the sound of birds cawing and flapping around—it was all kinda freaking Genie out.
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
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