paw (pô) n. The foot of an animal, especially a quadruped, that has claws or nails. Informal A human hand, especially a large clumsy one: "Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water" (John Steinbeck). v.
pawed, paw·ing, paws
v.
tr.
To strike with the paw or paws. To strike or scrape with a beating motion: The bull pawed the ground before charging. To handle clumsily, rudely, or with too much familiarity. See Synonyms at touch. v.
intr.
To scrape the ground with the forefeet: The horse pawed restlessly. To handle someone or something clumsily, rudely, or with too much familiarity: Don't paw at everything you see.
[Middle English pawe, from Old French powe.] paw'er n. |