maw

[ maw ]

/ mɔ /

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See synonyms for maw on Thesaurus.com

noun

the mouth, throat, or gullet of an animal, especially a carnivorous mammal.

the crop or craw of a fowl.

the stomach, especially that of an animal.

a cavernous opening that resembles the open jaws of an animal: the gaping maw of hell.

the symbolic or theoretical center of a voracious hunger or appetite of any kind: the ravenous maw of Death.

QUIZ

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If autumn is your ideal season, spice up your repertoire of "fall" vocabulary with this quiz on some warm and vivid descriptive words for the season.

Question 1 of 10

Which of the following words means “to make a crackling sound; crackle”?

crisp

crepitate

fuscous

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Origin of maw

before 900; Middle English mawe,Old English maga; cognate with Dutch maag,German Magen,Old Norse magi

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH maw

mall, maul, maw

Words nearby maw

maverick, mavis, Mavors, mavourneen, mavun, maw, mawger, mawkin, mawkish, Mawlamyine, Mawlid

Other definitions for maw (2 of 2)

maw²

[ maw ]

/ mɔ /

noun Informal.

mother¹.

Origin of maw

Variant of ma

How to use maw in a sentence

Several slow, deliberate lunges later, the tortoise’s yawning maw caught the bird, crushing its head.
A giant tortoise was caught stalking, killing and eating a baby bird|Jonathan Lambert|August 23, 2021|Science News
The third time, from her mermaid maw, Emerged the voice of Ringo Staw.
Style Invitational Week 1436: Haven’t seen it — new plots for movie titles|Pat Myers|May 13, 2021|Washington Post
Privately, they admit they have to provide the data that feed that maw.
How to Reinvent College Rankings: Show the Data Students Need Most|Steve Cohen|March 24, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The other is that people actually lose skills (even very basic skills) and many of them fall into the maw of depression.
The Federal Government Should Hire the Long-Term Unemployed|Megan McArdle|March 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Every time I step onto an airplane, I turn to the right and take a good, hard stare into the maw of the engine.
Barbara Kingsolver: How I Write|Noah Charney|December 5, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Having been caught red-handed with a smoking bong firmly pasted to his maw, the long knives are out for the Olympic hero.
Up in Smoke?|Mike Edison|February 3, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Thereafter we were buffeted like chips in the swirling maw of a whirlpool; we fought our way rod by rod.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
He picks me out, but my gran'maw he sez dat he will leave case she am so old an' feeble.
Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States|Various
I doan know nothin' 'bout my family 'cept my gran'maw an' she died in Mississippi durin' de war.
Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States|Various
Just what they expect of my babyAin't clear to his maw; my, oh, my!
With the Colors|Everard Jack Appleton
So much for the measure of the maw of the circulating library.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine - Volume 55, No. 343, May 1844|Various

British Dictionary definitions for maw

maw

/ (mɔː) /

noun

the mouth, throat, crop, or stomach of an animal, esp of a voracious animal

informal the mouth or stomach of a greedy person

Word Origin for maw

Old English maga; related to Middle Dutch maghe, Old Norse magi

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

maw

Origin of maw

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH maw

Words nearby maw

Other definitions for maw (2 of 2)

Origin of maw

Words related to maw

How to use maw in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for maw

Word Origin for maw