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.
One such release was Claude Design in April, which some saw as a direct competitor to offerings from design company Figma, one of Anthropic’s partners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
An AFP team in the village saw Israeli military vehicles operating on a nearby hill.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Those born between 1987 and 1991 were entering the workforce just after the financial crash and saw a big fall in earnings.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Management at the soft-drink giant said Tuesday that a new version of Mr. Pibb, which has 30% more caffeine and extra cherry flavoring, saw more than 20% volume growth in the second quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
“I saw you swim just now. You’ve got good form.”
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
That decision came after an internal Pfizer report that Holmes said she never SAW? had expressed doubts about the reliability of Theranos’ blood tests.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 23, 2021
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
YOU are the one who did something wrong, I say, because I SAW him push William H. out of his Personal Space.
From "Mockingbird" by Kathryn Erskine
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
For the majority of Americans, one of those legs has been effectively sawed off without an available pension.
From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2024
The trees themselves had long been sawed for firewood and carried away.
From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy
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
This felt manageable until I found myself, a few weeks in, sawing at a kabocha squash with a butter knife.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2025
Likewise, publishers who opt to create push-button novels will be sawing off the proximal tree limb with Wile E. Coyote abandon.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2024
Kendra began sawing the stem of a tall orange pumpkin.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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
Rift sawn white oak flooring grounds the space.
From Washington Post ● Jun. 10, 2022
The tree trunks are laid in the street in front of the homes of those who purchase them, to be sawn down in backyard workshops.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 25, 2022
The shelves on which they stood smelled of freshly sawn wood.
From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke
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.
