hew
verb (used with object)
to strike forcibly with an ax, sword, or other cutting instrument; chop; hack.
were hewing
-
past progressiveof hew.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Each said later they were hewing to guidelines that all Americans have been asked by health officials to follow.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 15, 2020
U.S. military planners last week were hewing closely to Cordesman's line and planning for contingencies based on the nature of any foreseeable Iranian provocations.
From Time Magazine Archive
Six hundred souls one summer's day, Worked in the deep, dark Hutton seams; Men were hewing the coal away, Boys were guiding the loaded teams.
From The Canadian Elocutionist by Anna Kelsey Howard
While the men were hewing down the trees, Mrs Rumbelow, with four of the most active women, set to work to cut the grass for thatching.
From The Voyages of the Ranger and Crusader And what befell their Passengers and Crews. by William Henry Giles Kingston
Never were moments of greater importance; for while father and uncle were hewing a new axle, two men came from the head of the company to tell about the snow.
From The Expedition of the Donner Party and its Tragic Fate by Eliza Poor Donner Houghton
