hew

¹ American  

[hyoo, yoo] / hyu, yu /

verb (used with object)

hewed, hewed, hewn, hewing

1. to strike forcibly with an ax, sword, or other cutting instrument; chop; hack.

2. to make, shape, smooth, etc., with cutting blows.

   to hew a passage through the crowd; to hew a statue from marble.

   Synonyms:

   form

3. 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.

4. to cut down; fell.

   to hew wood; trees hewed down by the storm.

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verb (used without object)

hewed, hewed, hewn, hewing

1. to strike with cutting blows; cut.

   He hewed more vigorously each time.

2. to uphold, follow closely, or conform (usually followed byto ).

   to hew to the tenets of one's political party.

HEW ² American  

abbreviation

1. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

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hew ¹ British  

/ hjuː /

verb

1. to strike (something, esp wood) with cutting blows, as with an axe

2. to shape or carve from a substance

3. (tr; often foll by away, down, from, off, etc) to sever from a larger or another portion

4. to conform (to a code, principle, etc)

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HEW ² British  

abbreviation

1. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare

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Related Words

See cut.

Other Word Forms

• hewable adjective
• hewer noun
• unhewable adjective
• unhewed adjective

Etymology

Origin of hew

First recorded before 900; Middle English hewen, Old English hēawan; cognate with German hauen, Old Norse hǫggva; akin to haggle

Example Sentences

The experiences of Semple’s characters hew closely to her own, and when she’s not happy, neither are they.

From The Wall Street Journal

But “Dead Lover” hews closer to Laura Moss’ modern medical take, “birth/rebirth,” and even more closely to Zelda Williams’ cute, poppy “Lisa Frankenstein,” in which a young seamstress stitches up a reanimated boyfriend.

From Los Angeles Times

Microdramas hew to an established formula, with each installment ending on a cliffhanger that pushes its often preposterous story line toward a final, usually shocking reveal.

From The Wall Street Journal

Some vessels have exited the strait after making a brief diversion through a channel between two islands off Iran’s coast, Larak and Qeshm, and hewing close to Iran’s coast.

From MarketWatch

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

Related Words

• cleave