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definitions

jaw

1
[jaw]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR jaw ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

verb (used without object)

Slang.
  1. to talk; chat; gossip.
  2. to scold or use abusive language.

verb (used with object)

Slang. to scold.

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RELATED WORDS

mouth, bone, orifice, muzzle, jowl, maxilla, mandible, orate, prate, yak, babble, jabber, prattle, chat, gossip, lecture, chatter, gab, revile

Origin of jaw

1
1325–75; Middle English jawe, jowe < Old French joue; origin uncertain
Related formsjaw·less, adjective

jaw

2
[jaw]Scot. and North England

noun

a swelling wave of water; billow.

verb (used without object)

(of liquid) to surge, splash, or dash forward, as in waves.

verb (used with object)

to pour or splash (liquid).

Origin of jaw

2
First recorded in 1505–15; perhaps akin to jaup
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for jaws

Contemporary Examples of jaws

Historical Examples of jaws

  • This father would not even look at the son that had but just escaped the jaws of death!

    Weighed and Wanting

    George MacDonald

  • Burke's broad jowls shook from the force with which he snapped his jaws together.

    Within the Law

    Marvin Dana

  • Peter set his jaws and continued his meditations on shoe leather.

    Her Father's Daughter

    Gene Stratton-Porter

  • His jaws were apart, and through them the tongue protruded, draggled and limp.

    White Fang

    Jack London

  • At the instant his jaws closed on it, White Fang struck him.

    White Fang

    Jack London

British Dictionary definitions for jaws

jaws

pl n

the narrow opening of some confined place such as a gorge
the jaws a dangerously close positionthe jaws of death

jaw

noun

the part of the skull of a vertebrate that frames the mouth and holds the teeth. In higher vertebrates it consists of the upper jaw (maxilla) fused to the cranium and the lower jaw (mandible)Related adjectives: gnathal, gnathic
the corresponding part of an invertebrate, esp an insect
a pair or either of a pair of hinged or sliding components of a machine or tool designed to grip an object
slang
  1. impudent talk; cheek
  2. idle conversation; chat
  3. moralizing talk; a lecture

verb

(intr) slang
  1. to talk idly; chat; gossip
  2. to lecture
See also jaws
Derived Formsjawlike, adjective

Word Origin for jaw

C14: probably from Old French joue cheek; related to Italian gota cheek
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
Word Origin and History for jaws

jaw

n.

late 14c., "the bones of the mouth," perhaps from Old French joue "cheek," from Gaulish *gauta "cheek," or perhaps a variant of Germanic words related to chew (q.v.); cf. also jowl. Replaced Old English ceace, ceafl.

jaw

v.

1610s, "to catch in the jaws, devour," from jaw (n.). In slang from 1748, "to gossip, to speak" 1810, "to scold." Related: Jawed; jawing. Hence 19c. U.S. slang jawsmith "talkative person" (1887).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for jaws

jaw

[jô]

n.

Either of two bony structures that form the framework of the mouth and hold the teeth.
The mandible or maxilla or the part of the face covering these bones.
Related formsjaw′less adj.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for jaws

jaw

[jô]

Either of two bony or cartilaginous structures that in most vertebrate animals form the framework of the mouth, hold the teeth, and are used for biting and chewing food. The lower, movable part of the jaw is the mandible. The upper, fixed part is the maxilla.
Any of various structures of invertebrate animals, such as the pincers of spiders or mites, that function similarly to the jaws of vertebrates.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.