hew
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.
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.
to strike with cutting blows; cut: He hewed more vigorously each time.
to uphold, follow closely, or conform (usually followed by to): to hew to the tenets of one's political party.
Origin of hew
1synonym study For hew
Other words for hew
Other words from hew
- hew·a·ble, adjective
- hewer, noun
- un·hew·a·ble, adjective
- un·hewed, adjective
Words that may be confused with hew
- hew , hue
Words Nearby hew
Other definitions for HEW (2 of 2)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use hew in a sentence
That system weakened as members of all three branches hewed increasingly to the platforms of the two political parties.
The xEMU has bearings that are lighter and hew closer to the joints than ones used for previous EMUs.
Current spacesuits won’t cut it on the moon. So NASA made new ones. | Neel Patel | December 29, 2020 | MIT Technology ReviewThe pandemic has been the ultimate stress test on us and on our nation, and it doesn’t hew to human timelines.
The covid-era workplace: Hard questions, no easy answers | Karla Miller | December 17, 2020 | Washington PostAll other Senate races hewed quite close to presidential results — and because this year’s Senate races took place largely on Republican turf, that was a big blow to Democrats’ efforts to flip the chamber.
There Wasn’t That Much Split-Ticket Voting In 2020 | Nathaniel Rakich (nathaniel.rakich@fivethirtyeight.com) | December 2, 2020 | FiveThirtyEightInstead of hewing to the usual limit, we created five separate lists this year.
Fortune’s 40 Under 40 honorees in tech defy the pandemic | rhhackettfortune | September 2, 2020 | Fortune
That may make them more likely to, collectively, hew to a more moderate path when giving odds on the election.
Designers hew to their legacies for fall lines, while Armani argues against his reputation for elegance.
Milan Fashion Week’s Big Finale: Versace and Dolce & Gabbana Wow, While Armani Falls Short | Robin Givhan | February 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTAfter Jobs left, Scully says, the company tried to hew to his design philosophy.
Behind all the finger-wagging is the idea that movies about history need to hew to facts.
His object was to reach Allahabad that night—not to hew his way through opposing hordes and risk being cut down in the process.
The Red Year | Louis TracyDraw the belt tighter, my son, and hew me out this tree that is fallen across the road, for our campground is not here.
The First Christmas Tree | Henry Van DykeThen bade the King his men hew the ice and release his ships into the lake, and so went the men and set to work to hew the ice.
The Sagas of Olaf Tryggvason and of Harald The Tyrant (Harald Haardraade) | Snorri SturlusonLook at the swagger of the vagabond who commands his braves, would you not think he was about to hew down everything in sight?
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne SueThe other man was negligible—a bovine lump of flesh without personality—born to hew wood and draw water for men of enterprise.
The Hidden Places | Bertrand W. Sinclair
British Dictionary definitions for hew (1 of 2)
/ (hjuː) /
to strike (something, esp wood) with cutting blows, as with an axe
(tr often foll by out) to shape or carve from a substance
(tr; often foll by away, down, from, off, etc) to sever from a larger or another portion
(intr often foll by to) US and Canadian to conform (to a code, principle, etc)
Origin of hew
1Derived forms of hew
- hewer, noun
British Dictionary definitions for HEW (2 of 2)
Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Browse