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saw

1
[ saw ]
/ sɔ /
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See synonyms for: saw / sawed / sawing / sawn on Thesaurus.com
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 or sawn, saw·ing.
verb (used without object), sawed, sawed or sawn, saw·ing.
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Idioms about saw

    saw wood, Informal. to snore loudly while sleeping.

Origin of saw

1
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 sax2, section

OTHER WORDS FROM saw

sawer, nounsawlike, adjective

Other definitions for saw (2 of 3)

saw2
[ saw ]
/ sɔ /
verb
simple past tense of see1.

Other definitions for saw (3 of 3)

saw3
[ saw ]
/ sɔ /
noun
a sententious saying; maxim; proverb: He could muster an old saw for every occasion.

Origin of saw

3
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, say1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to saw

saying, adage, aphorism, apophthegm, axiom, byword, daffodil, dictum, epigram, gnome, maxim, moral, motto, platitude, precept, repartee, text, truism, witticism, word

How to use saw in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for saw (1 of 4)

saw1
/ (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 saws, sawing, sawed, sawed or sawn
to cut with a saw
to form by sawing
to cut as if wielding a sawto saw the air
to move (an object) from side to side as if moving a saw

Derived forms of saw

sawer, nounsawlike, adjective

Word Origin for saw

Old English sagu; related to Old Norse sog, Old High German saga, Latin secāre to cut, secūris axe

British Dictionary definitions for saw (2 of 4)

saw2
/ (sɔː) /
verb
the past tense of see 1

British Dictionary definitions for saw (3 of 4)

saw3
/ (sɔː) /
noun
a wise saying, maxim, or proverb

Word Origin for saw

Old English sagu a saying; related to saga

British Dictionary definitions for saw (4 of 4)

SAW
abbreviation for
surface acoustic wave
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

Other Idioms and Phrases with saw

saw

see old saw.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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