chew

American  

[choo] / tʃu /

verb (used with object)

1. to crush or grind with the teeth; masticate.

2. to crush, damage, injure, etc., as if by chewing (often followed byup ).

   The faulty paper feeder chewed the letters up.

3. to make by or as if by chewing.

   The puppy chewed a hole in my slipper.

4. to meditate on; consider deliberately (often followed byover ).

   He chewed the problem over in his mind.

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verb (used without object)

1. to perform the act of crushing or grinding with the teeth.

2. Informal. to chew tobacco.

3. to meditate.

noun

1. an act or instance of chewing.

2. something chewed or intended for chewing.

   a chew of tobacco; taffy chews.

verb phrase

1. chew out to scold harshly.

   The sergeant chewed out the recruits.

idioms

1. chew the fat, to converse at length in a relaxed manner; chat: Also chew the rag.

   They liked to sit around chewing the fat.

chew British  

/ tʃuː /

verb

1. to work the jaws and teeth in order to grind (food); masticate

2. to bite repeatedly

   she chewed her nails anxiously

3. (intr) to use chewing tobacco

4. slang

   1. to argue over a point

   2. to talk idly; gossip

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noun

1. the act of chewing

2. something that is chewed

   a chew of tobacco

chew More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing chew

• bite off more than one can chew

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Other Word Forms

• chewable
  adjective
• chewer
  noun
• unchewed
  adjective
• well-chewed
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of chew

before 1000; Middle English chewen, Old English cēowan; cognate with Old High German kiuwan ( German kauen )

Explanation

When you chew, you use your teeth to grind up food before you swallow it. It can be pretty unpleasant to watch your brother chew his pizza with his mouth open. Usually when people chew, they chew up a bite of food or chew on a candy bar. You can also chew your nails or chew your lower lip — you're not actually eating something, but just using your teeth to gnaw or bite. You can also use the word chew figuratively, to mean "think or mull over." It comes from an Old English root, ceowan, "to gnaw or chew."

Example Sentences

Over the next few months, you’ll have earnings reports to chew on.

From Barron's • May 21, 2026

“We walk and chew gum at the same time,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

AI providers are hiking prices and throttling usage amid real-capacity constraints, while “tokenmaxxing” is starting to chew up IT budgets, according to O’Regan.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 18, 2026

These products, because they are so easy to chew and digest quickly, hit the brain rapidly and can have a strong effect on its reward system, which is involved in pleasure, motivation and learning.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026

Which is true, but when my dad finds out I gave it away, he’ll chew me a new one.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Related Words

• bite
• chomp
• gnaw
• nibble