mew

1
[ myoo ]
See synonyms for: mewmews on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. the tiny, high-pitched sound a cat or kitten makes.

  2. the characteristic sound a gull makes.

verb (used without object)
  1. to make a mew or emit a similar sound.

Origin of mew

1
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English meuen; imitative

Other definitions for mew (2 of 4)

mew2
[ myoo ]

noun
  1. a small gull, Larus canus, of Eurasia and northwestern North America.

Origin of mew

2
First recorded in before 900; Middle English; Old English mǣwe; cognate with German Müwe
  • Also called mew gull .

Other definitions for mew (3 of 4)

mew3
[ myoo ]

noun
  1. a cage for hawks, especially while molting.

  2. a pen in which poultry is fattened.

  1. a place of retirement or concealment.

  2. mews, (usually used with a singular verb)Chiefly British.

    • (formerly) an area of stables built around a small street.

    • a street having small apartments converted from such stables.

verb (used with object)
  1. Archaic. to shut up in or as in a mew; confine; conceal (often followed by up).

Origin of mew

3
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English mue, from Middle French, akin to muer “to molt”; see mew4

Words that may be confused with mew

Other definitions for mew (4 of 4)

mew4
[ myoo ]

verb (used with or without object)
  1. to shed (feathers); molt.

Origin of mew

4
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English mewen, from Old French muer “to molt,” from Latin mūtāre “to change”

Other words from mew

  • mewer, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mew in a sentence

  • Then she jumped down and sat on the floor, looking at the chair, and mewing sorrowfully.

  • She had a prettily marked face, and she was waving her large tail like a flag, and mewing kindly to greet her mistress.

    Beautiful Joe | Marshall Saunders
  • He was just lifting the dasher when his mother heard the kittens mewing and took them out.

  • She went to the doors one by one to let pussy in, and no pussy appeared, but still she heard her mewing as if in pain.

    Mary and I | Stephen Return Riggs
  • No cat coming out and the mewing still continuing, I knelt down and peered under the sofa.

    Animal Ghosts | Elliott O'Donnell

British Dictionary definitions for mew (1 of 4)

mew1

/ (mjuː) /


verb
  1. (intr) (esp of a cat) to make a characteristic high-pitched cry

noun
  1. such a sound

Origin of mew

1
C14: imitative

British Dictionary definitions for mew (2 of 4)

mew2

/ (mjuː) /


noun
  1. any seagull, esp the common gull, Larus canus: Also called: mew gull, sea mew

Origin of mew

2
Old English mǣw; compare Old Saxon mēu, Middle Dutch mēwe

British Dictionary definitions for mew (3 of 4)

mew3

/ (mjuː) /


noun
  1. a room or cage for hawks, esp while moulting

verb
  1. (tr often foll by up) to confine (hawks or falcons) in a shelter, cage, etc, usually by tethering them to a perch

  2. to confine, conceal

Origin of mew

3
C14: from Old French mue, from muer to moult, from Latin mūtāre to change

British Dictionary definitions for mew (4 of 4)

mew4

/ (mjuː) /


verb
  1. (intr) (of hawks or falcons) to moult

  2. (tr) obsolete to shed (one's covering, clothes, etc)

Origin of mew

4
C14: from Old French muer to moult, from Latin mūtāre to change

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