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rough-hew

or rough·hew

[ruhf-hyoo]
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verb (used with object), rough-hewed, rough-hewed or rough-hewn, rough-hew·ing.
  1. to hew (timber, stone, etc.) roughly or without smoothing or finishing.
  2. to shape roughly; give crude form to.
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Origin of rough-hew

First recorded in 1520–30
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for rough-hew

Historical Examples

  • "Rough-hew them as we will," said Rayburn, looking backward.

    The Missionary

    George Griffith

  • There is a hand that shapes our ends, rough-hew them as we will.

    Hubert's Wife

    Minnie Mary Lee

  • But "there's a divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will."

  • Where does he rough-hew or shape his work, and where is it for sale?

  • “There is a destiny that shapes our ends, rough-hew them though we may,” he thought to himself.

British Dictionary definitions for rough-hew

rough-hew

verb -hews, -hewing, -hewed, -hewed or -hewn (tr)
  1. to cut or hew (timber, stone, etc) roughly without finishing the surface
  2. Also: roughcast to shape roughly or crudely
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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