chew
Americanverb (used with object)
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to crush or grind with the teeth; masticate.
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to crush, damage, injure, etc., as if by chewing (often followed byup ).
The faulty paper feeder chewed the letters up.
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to make by or as if by chewing.
The puppy chewed a hole in my slipper.
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to meditate on; consider deliberately (often followed byover ).
He chewed the problem over in his mind.
verb (used without object)
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to perform the act of crushing or grinding with the teeth.
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Informal. to chew tobacco.
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to meditate.
noun
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an act or instance of chewing.
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something chewed or intended for chewing.
a chew of tobacco; taffy chews.
verb phrase
idioms
verb
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to work the jaws and teeth in order to grind (food); masticate
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to bite repeatedly
she chewed her nails anxiously
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(intr) to use chewing tobacco
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slang
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to argue over a point
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to talk idly; gossip
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noun
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the act of chewing
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something that is chewed
a chew of tobacco
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 )
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.
She said it was "so lovely that anybody would bother to come up and chew the cud with you for a while"
From BBC
They have no teeth and instead of biting and chewing, they use their long tongues to lap up thousands of ants or termites a day in the wild.
From BBC
It hit Chitto as he chewed, turning his bite rubbery: he didn’t just need to consider something about himself.
From Literature
It seems that alarm clocks stop working when your dog chews the wires while you’re busy trying to get your English assignment done.
From Literature
He took a mouthful and chewed, pulp oozing between his teeth.
From Literature
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.
