a tool or device for cutting, typically a thin blade of metal with a series of sharp teeth.
any similar tool or device, as a rotating disk, in which a sharp continuous edge replaces the teeth.
to cut or divide with a saw.
to form by cutting with a saw.
to make cutting motions as if using a saw.
to saw the air with one's hands.
to work (something) from side to side like a saw.
to use a saw.
to cut with or as if with a saw.
to cut as a saw does.
any of various hand tools for cutting wood, metal, etc, having a blade with teeth along one edge
any of various machines or devices for cutting by use of a toothed blade, such as a power-driven circular toothed wheel or toothed band of metal
to cut with a saw
to form by sawing
to cut as if wielding a saw
to saw the air
to move (an object) from side to side as if moving a saw
First recorded before 1000; Middle English noun sau(e), soue, zaue, Old English saga, sagu; cognate with Dutch zaag, Old Norse sǫg, German Säge, all meaning “saw”; akin to Latin secāre “to cut,” Old English seax “short sword, knife, dagger”; the verb is derivative of the noun; see also sax 2, section
First recorded before 950; Middle English sau(e), sauhe, sagh(e) “talk, words, something said,” Old English sagu “a saying, speech, narrative”; cognate with German Sage “legend, fable, myth, tradition,” Old Norse saga “statement, tale, story, history”; see also saga, say 1
A saw is a tool that's used to cut wood. It can be a hand tool or a power tool, and it usually has either a blade or a disk with a jagged cutting edge. The verb saw means to cut through wood or another material using a saw or other tool. If you are going to build a bookcase, you have to saw the wood into the proper lengths. It's a good idea to measure it twice so you only have to saw it once. When you're faced with a tough piece of meat, you might have to saw at it just to cut off a bite.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In the final moments of the Oryoku Maru, an American military chaplain saw the lifeless body of a Maj.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
"I was right to call out what I clearly saw were anti-vax and antisemitic conspiracy theories, and this judgment reaffirms that right," he added.
From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026
That outpaced the average 76% of all adults saying they saw at least one movie in theaters.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
In the rescue caught on video, a State Parks spokesperson said the lifeguard saw a child lose his balance in the waves and get swept about 15 yards offshore.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Even though it’s only been a month since I saw him last, he looks different.
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
Traditional SAW devices typically max out at around 4 gigahertz, making the new system far faster.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 17, 2026
I SAW a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2022
THE “TEENS” SAW one of the biggest booms in Seattle history, with the city leading the national crane count for years and enjoying an unusually diverse economy.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 5, 2020
I SAW a girl on a Manhattan-bound subway train one day wearing a knockoff Louis Vuitton head scarf and false eyelashes long enough to make a daddy longlegs envious.
From New York Times ● Nov. 29, 2014
I SAW her across the room when I awoke, reading a newspaper, her glasses low across the bridge of her nose as she stared at the page intently.
From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison
Performance and illusion are recurring themes: A woman is sawed in half in a depiction of classic stagecraft; elsewhere a juggler manipulates ovoids that each contain an everyday vignette.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026
There’s no guarantee the Chargers will pass through the gate of golden opportunity, but this 2-0 team has sawed the lock off the latch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 20, 2025
He came, he sawed, he conq—well, he left.
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2025
Goldie's mate, Regina, had her own adventure when she was snatched the following February by student pranksters at Manchester University who sawed through a padlock to access the cage.
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2025
Brother Matthew had found the wood of proper kind and size, then he sawed it the right length, allowing a little for finishing.
From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli
She has now been competing in logrolling for 28 years and began sawing and chopping more recently.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Emergency workers stood on the charred roof, still smelling of burning, sawing off damaged sections and tossing the debris into a pile.
From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026
The high-pitched sound of an angle grinder sawing through glass echoed through the hall.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2025
Not even Clippers owner Steve Ballmer’s signature, decibel-raising remarks could drown out the sound of sawing and heavy machinery throughout the presentation, which confirmed news that first became known late last week.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2024
“It’s all right,” Rose says quietly, still sawing her food into ever-tinier pieces.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
While it is tougher to work with than natural timber, it can still be sawn in a traditional manner with carbide or diamond-tipped blades.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2025
It had been in my family for three generations — an upright of quarter sawn oak that probably hadn’t been properly tuned for years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2025
The Customs Department said in a statement it discovered the contraband hidden behind sawn timber following checks on July 10 on a ship coming from Africa.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 18, 2022
Rift sawn white oak flooring grounds the space.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 10, 2022
Then he emerged carrying a sawn section of tongue-and-groove planking and laid it down and entered the closet again and emerged with a metal box.
From "The Sound and the Fury" by William Faulkner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
