mew
1the tiny, high-pitched sound a cat or kitten makes.
the characteristic sound a gull makes.
to make a mew or emit a similar sound.
Origin of mew
1Other definitions for mew (2 of 4)
a small gull, Larus canus, of Eurasia and northwestern North America.
Origin of mew
2- Also called mew gull .
Other definitions for mew (3 of 4)
a cage for hawks, especially while molting.
a pen in which poultry is fattened.
a place of retirement or concealment.
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.
Archaic. to shut up in or as in a mew; confine; conceal (often followed by up).
Origin of mew
3Words that may be confused with mew
- mews , muse
Other definitions for mew (4 of 4)
to shed (feathers); molt.
Origin of mew
4Other 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.
The Nursery, January 1873, Vol. XIII. | VariousShe 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 SaundersHe 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 RiggsNo 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)
/ (mjuː) /
(intr) (esp of a cat) to make a characteristic high-pitched cry
such a sound
Origin of mew
1British Dictionary definitions for mew (2 of 4)
/ (mjuː) /
any seagull, esp the common gull, Larus canus: Also called: mew gull, sea mew
Origin of mew
2British Dictionary definitions for mew (3 of 4)
/ (mjuː) /
a room or cage for hawks, esp while moulting
(tr often foll by up) to confine (hawks or falcons) in a shelter, cage, etc, usually by tethering them to a perch
to confine, conceal
Origin of mew
3British Dictionary definitions for mew (4 of 4)
/ (mjuː) /
(intr) (of hawks or falcons) to moult
(tr) obsolete to shed (one's covering, clothes, etc)
Origin of mew
4Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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