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:
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 ● Mar. 30, 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
The intention of the proposed measure is to hew as closely to the county regulations as possible, including provisions that provide flexibility to small landlords, Blumenfield said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2025
Four trees are wanted for the Keel, which all together will measure 146 feet in length, and hew 16 inches square.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
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
Numerous researchers had appealed to HEW, asking that collection of blood and tissues be exempt from the new law.
From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot
In “Samurai,” Murashige hews closer to someone overwhelmed by responsibility.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 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
It isn’t yet clear how close that opinion hews to Selig’s own.
From Barron's ● Nov. 19, 2025
Leni’s superior effort, its small liberties notwithstanding, hews much closer to Willard’s original play—a model for what is now called the comedy-horror picture.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2025
He that depends Upon your favours swims with fins of lead And hews down Oaks with rushes.
From The plant-lore & garden-craft of Shakespeare by Henry Nicholson Ellacombe
At a time when other sitcoms occasionally tackled social issues in “very special” episodes and “The Cosby Show” hewed to its namesake star’s dedication to respectability politics, “A Different World” regularly confronted harder topics.
From Salon ● Sep. 24, 2026
Indeed, Walker’s Bitcoin origin story hewed closely to a common template in the Bitcoin community.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2026
Robert Icke’s “Oedipus” was hardly a retread of an ancient Greek classic and “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” may have hewed faithfully to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s score, but everything else about this production seemed completely reborn.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 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
The place was filthy and the old pines hewed down and those left standing were dying, and the pools in the courts were choked with refuse.
From "The Good Earth" by Pearl S. Buck
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
A choir of merpeople was singing in the middle, calling the champions toward them, and behind them rose a crude sort of statue; a gigantic merperson hewn from a boulder.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
This week underscored the challenge the New York City mayor faces in hewing to those deeply held beliefs and appeasing his political base while governing the nation’s largest city.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Though far from being a “gritty” period drama, “Little House” does attempt to capture the realities and complexities of its place and time, while still hewing to Wilder’s original themes of resilience, hope and family.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
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 ● Mar. 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
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
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