hew
verb (used with object)
to strike forcibly with an ax, sword, or other cutting instrument; chop; hack.
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hew
1 American
[hyoo, yoo]
/ hju, ju /
verb (used with object)
-
hews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hewed,
past participle, past
-
hewn,
past participle
-
hewing
present participle
-
to strike forcibly with an ax, sword, or other cutting instrument; chop; hack.
-
to make, shape, smooth, etc., with cutting blows.
to hew a passage through the crowd; to hew a statue from marble.
- Synonyms:
- form
-
to sever (a part) from a whole by means of cutting blows (usually followed by away, off, out, from, etc.).
to hew branches from the tree.
-
to cut down; fell.
to hew wood; trees hewed down by the storm.
verb (used without object)
-
hews,
present (3rd person singular)
-
hewed,
past participle, past
-
hewn,
past participle
-
hewing
present participle
-
to strike with cutting blows; cut.
He hewed more vigorously each time.
-
to uphold, follow closely, or conform (usually followed byto ).
to hew to the tenets of one's political party.
HEW
2
American
abbreviation
hew
1
British
/ hjuː /
verb
-
to strike (something, esp wood) with cutting blows, as with an axe
-
to shape or carve from a substance
-
(tr; often foll by away, down, from, off, etc) to sever from a larger or another portion
-
to conform (to a code, principle, etc)
HEW
2
British
abbreviation
Synonym Usage
See cut.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
hewsimple
-
hewssimple
-
have hewedperfect
-
have hewnperfect
-
has hewedperfect
-
has hewnperfect
-
am hewingprogressive
-
are hewingprogressive
-
is hewingprogressive
-
have been hewingperfect progressive
-
has been hewingperfect progressive
Past
-
hewedsimple
-
had hewedperfect
-
had hewnperfect
-
was hewingprogressive
-
were hewingprogressive
-
had been hewingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hew
First recorded before 900; Middle English hewen, Old English hēawan; cognate with German hauen, Old Norse hǫggva; akin to haggle
Explanation
If you're a lumberjack, the word hew is nothing new. You hew things every day with one swift swing of the axe, chopping and shaping wood. It's said that Paul Bunyan hewed the Grand Canyon by dragging his giant mythical axe behind him. But usually things are hewn with a little more purpose — with each chop and cut designed to shape, sculpt, or craft a final product. Take the axe out of the picture though, and this word takes on a different meaning. If you're trying to adhere to rules, stick to a budget, or conform to a certain tradition, you can use hew, too.
Vocabulary lists containing hew
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Figurative Language in King's "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech (1963)
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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:
Two firms at the top of the prestige pyramid, Cravath and Wachtell, are among the few that still hew to a more traditional model.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
The deals appear to closely hew to the same lines as the earlier deals with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which were seen as significant wins for the industry.
From Barron's ● Dec. 19, 2025
With changes to tax law, the Dec. 31 deadline has become almost arbitrary, yet people still hew to old habits.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 19, 2025
Wiegman's watch notification during hew news conference reminded her of a workout she was due to have.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2025
Instead, it looks like a human trying to hew a life and a belief out of nothing but dead wood—which is, in its own way, heroic.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
In 1969, he joined HEW, now the Department of Health and Human Services.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 26, 2023
Carter wound up passing the buck on Section 504 to his new HEW head, Joseph Califano, formed a task force on the issue — that included no people with disabilities.
From Salon ● May 1, 2022
But, while programs like Medicare did become integral parts of American society, HEW did have too much on its plate: about a decade later, it was split into two separate agencies.
From Time ● Jan. 17, 2017
HEW Secretary John Gardner, recognizing the enormity of the task, decided to call in as much staff as necessary to enforce the law, Smith says.
From US News ● Jul. 29, 2015
My presence was noted each fall by the campus press office in its proud tally of Hispanic-American students enrolled; my progress was followed by HEW statisticians.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Though its narrative generally hews to a conventional left-liberal perspective, it is at its best when, like America itself, it allows room for dissent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
At the same time, “‘Master Harold,’” which hews closely to Fugard’s own experiences, is a tale of hope.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2026
The deal hews closely to the template set by the agreement Trump announced with Pfizer late last month.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2025
DeLone's hews more closely to the classic, which she says is a sort of Rhode Island staple; although the restaurant is located in West Hollywood, their focus is New England-style seafood.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2025
It exists but as a picture in his brain; but he takes marble and hews it and chisels it till there stands visible and unmistakable before us his very conception.
From Platform Monologues by T. G. (Thomas George) Tucker
Other results hewed closer to recent polling of the race.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026
A less-frequent Gallup survey specifically about whether the stock market will rise in the next six months hewed to the same pattern.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
Selfies were becoming more prevalent as social media grew, and standards of beauty hewed close to celebrity Kim Kardashian’s looks, especially in regards to eye makeup and products used for face contouring.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 7, 2026
Much of the wood was hand-sawn then hewed into shape with axes, just as the beams were in the 13th century.
From BBC ● Nov. 29, 2024
What power, what riches, the children wondered, could cover the entire earth with finely hewed stone?
From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz
Video released by the US Justice Department shows apparently well-made concrete steps leading into the tunnel, which appears to be hewn from rock and with a concrete floor.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
But when he got it right, his lyrics had an aphoristic directness that made them seem more hewn than written.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2025
Its throwing arm, currently at 12 o’clock, weighs 360 pounds and is not hewn or sanded; knots are visible in the wood.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025
This same water, reprocessed as waste, is dumped into hewn ice caverns.
From Salon ● May 29, 2023
Over the carcass of the horse, they built a platform of hewn logs; trunks of smaller trees and limbs from the greater, and the thickest straightest branches they could find.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Bach composed best by hewing to a strict format.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
They point out that the core rate has been more stable than headline PCE inflation, hewing closely to a range of 2.8% to 3% in the past two years.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 17, 2026
But being a politician occasionally requires actual leadership, which means working to persuade voters of the merits of a position, rather than reflexively hewing to public opinion at any given moment.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025
I’m sure someone’s meemaw is hewing now about how Saban deserves the ax.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 2, 2024
It was sufficient that the forest and the river fed him during most of the year, and he could earn a few dollars hewing trails for the Government when they did not.
From A Damaged Reputation by Harold Bindloss
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.
