chew

[ choo ]
See synonyms for chew on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to crush or grind with the teeth; masticate.

  2. to crush, damage, injure, etc., as if by chewing (often followed by up): The faulty paper feeder chewed the letters up.

  1. to make by or as if by chewing: The puppy chewed a hole in my slipper.

  2. to meditate on; consider deliberately (often followed by over): He chewed the problem over in his mind.

verb (used without object)
  1. to perform the act of crushing or grinding with the teeth.

  2. Informal. to chew tobacco.

  1. to meditate.

noun
  1. an act or instance of chewing.

  2. something chewed or intended for chewing: a chew of tobacco; taffy chews.

Verb Phrases
  1. chew out, Slang. to scold harshly: The sergeant chewed out the recruits.

Idioms about chew

  1. chew the fat, Informal. to converse at length in a relaxed manner; chat: They liked to sit around chewing the fat.: Also chew the rag.

Origin of chew

1
before 1000; Middle English chewen,Old English cēowan; cognate with Old High German kiuwan (German kauen)

Other words from chew

  • chewer, noun
  • un·chewed, adjective
  • well-chewed, adjective

Words that may be confused with chew

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use chew in a sentence

  • All this while Squinty was chewing on the apple which he had picked up from the ground after he had jumped over the rope.

    Squinty the Comical Pig | Richard Barnum
  • Is there to be some mysterious affinity between chewing and the revolutions, especially the social revolutions of the future?

  • What the effect of chewing is on political and military affairs, it is not so easy to discover.

  • Then rolling chewing-gum from one corner of his mouth into the other, he snapped off the electric light and walked from the room.

    Dope | Sax Rohmer
  • Kneeling down, he peered into the keyhole, holding the electric torch close beside his face and chewing industriously.

    Dope | Sax Rohmer

British Dictionary definitions for chew

chew

/ (tʃuː) /


verb
  1. to work the jaws and teeth in order to grind (food); masticate

  2. to bite repeatedly: she chewed her nails anxiously

  1. (intr) to use chewing tobacco

  2. chew the fat or chew the rag slang

    • to argue over a point

    • to talk idly; gossip

noun
  1. the act of chewing

  2. something that is chewed: a chew of tobacco

Origin of chew

1
Old English ceowan; related to Old High German kiuwan, Dutch kauwen, Latin gingīva a gum

Derived forms of chew

  • chewable, adjective
  • chewer, noun

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 chew

chew

In addition to the idioms beginning with chew

  • chew out
  • chew the cud
  • chew the fat

also see:

  • bite off more than one can chew

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