saw
noun
a tool or device for cutting, typically a thin blade of metal with a series of sharp teeth.
saw
1 American
[saw]
/ sɔ /
noun
-
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.
verb (used with object)
sawed,
sawed,
sawn,
sawing
-
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.
verb (used without object)
sawed,
sawed,
sawn,
sawing
-
to use a saw.
-
to cut with or as if with a saw.
-
to cut as a saw does.
idioms
saw
2
American
[saw]
/ sɔ /
verb
saw
3
American
[saw]
/ sɔ /
noun
saw
1
British
/ sɔː /
noun
-
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
verb
-
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
SAW
2
British
abbreviation
saw
3
British
/ sɔː /
verb
saw
4
British
/ sɔː /
noun
saw
More Idioms
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of saw1
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
Origin of saw3
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
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing saw
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Power-management maker Monolithic also saw its shares fall about 18.1% over a month, but they’re still up 33.7% so far this year.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 2, 2026
The special was not out yet at this point, but they saw me working out this bit, And it reminded me of the process.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
"The first thing I saw was the word 'nuclear' and that made me pretty nervous and scared. So my first thought was that something nuclear was actually flying toward us."
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
“Facts still matter in a courtroom. Truth still matters in a courtroom. That’s what we saw prevail today,” one of the attorneys, Margaret Donovan, said outside the courthouse.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
A fellow prisoner saw the execution orders on the Japanese commandant’s desk.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
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
It was not clear Tuesday whether the four were clients of SAW Inc.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2021
“HE SAW HER LIVE,” an ad for the event read, using the same image.
From New York Times ● Jan. 21, 2018
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
Patients with sickle-cell disease have described their pain as “stabbing, pulverizing,” as if “bones were being sawed by a rusty blade.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 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
For the majority of Americans, one of those legs has been effectively sawed off without an available pension.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2024
Vola eyed him as she sawed a slice off a ham joint and forked it into one of the frying pans.
From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker
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
I saw one guy in a pickup had stopped and was sawing off the head of a dead stag — presumably for the antlers, but maybe he was just hungry.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2024
Grandpa started sawing on the check lines and hollering, “Whoa-whoa-whoa.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
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
A giant gorilla statue which was stolen from a Lanarkshire garden centre a year ago was "sawn in half" before being discarded under a hedge, according to its owner.
From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2024
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
The Elves sat round the fire upon the grass or upon the sawn rings of old trunks.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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