Saw Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Synonyms saw 1 American [saw] / sɔ /

noun

1. a tool or device for cutting, typically a thin blade of metal with a series of sharp teeth.

2. any similar tool or device, as a rotating disk, in which a sharp continuous edge replaces the teeth.

verb (used with object)

sawed, sawed, sawn, sawing

1. to cut or divide with a saw.

2. to form by cutting with a saw.

3. to make cutting motions as if using a saw.

   to saw the air with one's hands.

4. to work (something) from side to side like a saw.

verb (used without object)

sawed, sawed, sawn, sawing

1. to use a saw.

2. to cut with or as if with a saw.

3. to cut as a saw does.

idioms

1. saw wood, to snore loudly while sleeping.

saw 2 American [saw] / sɔ /

verb

1. simple past tense of see.

saw 3 American [saw] / sɔ /

noun

1. a sententious saying; maxim; proverb.

   He could muster an old saw for every occasion.

saw 1 British / sɔː /

noun

1. any of various hand tools for cutting wood, metal, etc, having a blade with teeth along one edge

2. 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

"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

verb

1. to cut with a saw

2. to form by sawing

3. to cut as if wielding a saw

   to saw the air

4. to move (an object) from side to side as if moving a saw

"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 SAW 2 British

abbreviation

1. 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 saw 3 British / sɔː /

verb

1. the past tense of see 1

"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 saw 4 British / sɔː /

noun

1. a wise saying, maxim, or proverb

"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 saw More Idioms

1. see old saw.

Other Word Forms

• sawer noun
• sawlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of saw1

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; sax 2, section

Origin of saw3

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”; saga, say 1

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.

They then saw off the challenge of Motherwell in front of their own fans on Saturday, no mean feat given the way Jens Berthel Askou has got the Steelmen playing this term.

From BBC

Ohtani began the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo for Team Japan with a double on the first pitch he saw and then, one inning later, a grand slam … of course he did.

From Los Angeles Times

The first play-off hole saw DeChambeau dump his ball in a lake as they played down the 18th, immediately handing his opponent an advantage.

From BBC

"It seems that when the Iran war began, the settlers saw it as a golden opportunity," Ibrahim Hamayel, a resident of Abu Falah who tried to push back the settlers, told AFP.

From Barron's

AFP journalists heard blasts in Bahrain's capital Manama, and saw black smoke belching from a major oil terminal in the United Arab Emirates port city of Fujairah.

From Barron's

Related Words

• saying

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.