- past participle of hew.
hewn
AmericanOther Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hewn
1300–50; Middle English hewen, past participle of hew
Explanation
Something that's hewn is carved out of wood or another hard material. A hewn rock statue is cut and shaped out of a slab of stone. Your most prized possession could be a hand-hewn chair made by your grandfather, carved with a chisel out of piece of oak. A child who lives in the country might spend hours with a pocket knife making sharply hewn sticks, one after another. Hewn is the past participle of the verb hew, which comes from the Old English root heawan, "to chop, hack, or gash."
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.
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
“What the Acropolis was to Ancient Greece during her Golden Age, the new Civic Center now being hewn from the shabby slopes of Bunker Hill will be to Los Angeles,” The Times wrote in 1957.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2024
Beyond were still more steps, hewn out of solid rock.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
