SAW | Meaning, Definition In Cambridge English Dictionary

Meaning of saw in English sawverb uk /sɔː/ us /sɑː/ Add to word list Add to word list past simple of see Using the eyes

• accommodate
• accommodation
• all eyes are on someone/something idiom
• astigmatic
• beholder
• catch
• clock
• eyeful
• gawk
• leer
• look out for someone/something phrasal verb
• look up phrasal verb
• look-see
• not take your eyes off someone/something idiom
• observational
• observationally
• ogle
• scan
• shoot
• squint

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Phrasal verbs

saw something down saw something off saw something up sawverb uk /sɔː/ us /sɑː/ sawed | sawn or mainly US sawed [ I or T ] to cut wood or other hard material using a saw: They sawed the door in half. He sawed through the pipe. [ I + adv/prep ] to move something backwards and forwards as if using a saw: saw away He was sawing away at his violin, making a terrible noise! Cutting and stabbing

• abrasion
• bayonet
• butcher
• carve
• carving
• chap
• gouging
• hew
• hew something out of something
• impale
• impalement
• saw something up phrasal verb
• scarify
• scissor
• score something out/through phrasal verb
• shave
• shave something off/from something phrasal verb
• shear
• stab
• stabbing

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Backwards, sideways and back and forth

Phrasal verbs

saw something down saw something off saw something up sawnoun uk /sɔː/ us /sɑː/

saw noun (TOOL)

[ C ] a tool with a blade or sharp cutting points, used for cutting hard materials such as wood or metal: Cut off the unwanted branches close to the trunk using a saw. Warehouse workers would saw up blocks of salt with a special saw. See also back saw band saw chainsaw circular saw fretsaw hacksaw handsaw jigsaw (TOOL) power saw tenon saw   Caspar Benson/GettyImages Tools

• -pronged
• adjustable spanner
• adze
• Allen key
• auger
• awl
• drill press
• flail
• flat iron
• flathead screwdriver
• gavel
• gouge
• pincer
• pocketknife
• pooper scooper
• power saw
• prong
• trowel
• wrench
• X-acto knife

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saw noun (MUSICAL INSTRUMENT)

[ C or U ] a saw that is used as a musical instrument rather than as a tool, or a specially made musical instrument like a saw, that is played with a bow (= a stick with hair from the tail of a horse stretched along it): We had someone who played the saw. He plays saw with a bluegrass band. Synonym musical saw Musical instruments

• accordion
• acoustic guitar
• acoustically
• aeolian harp
• aerophone
• double bass
• double bassoon
• double reed
• double-stop
• double-tongue
• membranophone
• metallophone
• metronome
• monophonic
• monophonically
• tailpiece
• tam-tam
• tambourine
• tenor flute
• tenor saxophone

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saw noun (SAYING)

[ C ] old-fashioned a short sentence that states something that is generally thought to be true, or that gives useful advice: old saw An old saw says a hospital can be a dangerous place for a healthy person. Synonyms adage axiom formal proverb saying

• Studies reveal that for most people the old saw is all too true: Money won't buy you happiness.
• Part of the reason for his success is the way he modifies the old saw, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
• She proved the saw that behind every great man is an even greater woman.
• Once again, that old saw "Less is more" applies.

Linguistics: sentences & expressions

• adage
• anagrammatic
• anagrammatically
• asyndetic
• asyndetically
• asyndeton
• cliché-ridden
• coin
• dictum
• motto
• operative
• pangram
• proverbially
• sentence
• slogan
• strapline
• subsentence
• the operative word idiom
• to coin a phrase idiom
• Trumpism

See more results » (Definition of saw from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

saw | American Dictionary

sawus /sɔ/

saw (SEE)

Add to word list Add to word list past simple of see sawnoun [ C ] us /sɔ/

saw noun [C] (TOOL)

a tool that has a blade with sharp points along one edge, used for cutting hard materials, such as wood or metal: a circular saw a hand-held saw sawverb [ I/T ] us /sɔ/ past tense sawed | past participle sawn us/sɔn/ sawed

saw verb [I/T] (USE TOOL)

to cut with a saw: [ M ] I sawed off the end of the plank. (Definition of saw from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of saw

saw In a second experimental phase, all children saw a bucket containing a novel object, and two visible objects - one familiar and one novel. From the Cambridge English Corpus This ensured that all participants saw all conditions but no single participant saw two variants of the same item set. From the Cambridge English Corpus Thus, each subject saw 96 experimental picture-word pairs plus 96 filler picture-word pairs. From the Cambridge English Corpus Nurses and patients saw a difference between nurse practitioners and doctors which was mainly related to consultation style, accessibility and length of consultation. From the Cambridge English Corpus He saw it simply as the basis for better care. From the Cambridge English Corpus We saw above that the number of elderly individuals who depended on poor relief increased over the course of the eighteenth century. From the Cambridge English Corpus They enjoyed drinking, saw its positive benefits, particularly that it was relaxing, and valued their social lives, which drinking was a part of. From the Cambridge English Corpus I saw that she was proud of herself for coming up with such an elegant solution to her intimidating problem. From the Cambridge English Corpus The following years, moreover, arguably saw the law shed its associations with the gentry and aristocracy that had been characteristic of earlier decades. From the Cambridge English Corpus In earlier sections we already saw certain typological results emerge. From the Cambridge English Corpus It arose in the wake of punk, which sought to sweep away what its proponents saw as the empty virtuosity of rock dinosaurs. From the Cambridge English Corpus Sometimes it is not even specified whether the person who saw the vision was awake or asleep. From the Cambridge English Corpus We saw from our plots what real estate prices were doing, that they behaved very smoothly through time, unlike stock prices. From the Cambridge English Corpus The managers and owners interviewed all saw themselves as supplying a standard service and competing on price, as agencies. From the Cambridge English Corpus Regulators saw the agencies' analysis as a straightforward, putatively objective framework for the regulation of financial institutions' exposure to credit risk. From the Cambridge English Corpus See all examples of saw These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. What is the pronunciation of saw? What is the pronunciation of sawn?

Translations of saw

in Chinese (Traditional) （see的過去式）, 鋸, 拉鋸般地來回移動… See more in Chinese (Simplified) （see的过去式）, 锯, 拉锯般地来回移动… See more in Spanish pasado simple de "see", serrar, rasguear… See more in Portuguese passado de "see", serrar, serra… See more in Japanese in Turkish in French in Catalan in Dutch in Czech in Danish in Indonesian in Thai in Vietnamese in Polish in Swedish in Malay in German in Norwegian in Korean in Ukrainian in Italian “see” の過去形, のこぎり, ～をのこぎりで切る… See more testere, görmek' fiilinin ikinci hâli, testere ile kesmek… See more scie [feminine], scier, scie… See more passat de “see”, serra, serrar… See more zaag, zagen… See more pila, (roz)řezat… See more sav, save… See more gergaji, menggergaji… See more เลื่อย, ตัดด้วยเลื่อย… See more cái cưa, cưa, xẻ… See more piła, -, piłować… See more såg, såga… See more gergaji, menggergaji… See more die Säge, sägen… See more sag [masculine-feminine], sage, sag… See more “see”의 과거형, 톱, 톱질을 하다… See more пилка, пиляти, розпилювати… See more passato semplice di “see”, sega, segare… See more Need a translator?

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savoy cabbage savvier savviest savvy saw saw palmetto saw something down phrasal verb saw something off phrasal verb saw something up phrasal verb {{#randomImageQuizHook.filename}} {{#randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes Try a quiz now {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{^randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.isQuiz}} {{/randomImageQuizHook.filename}}

More meanings of saw

• see
• chain saw
• re-see
• back saw
• band saw
• handsaw
• power saw

See all meanings

• see about something phrasal verb
• see off someone phrasal verb
• see someone through something phrasal verb
• see something through phrasal verb
• see through someone/something phrasal verb
• see to something phrasal verb
• saw something up phrasal verb

See all phrasal verb meanings

• the last someone heard/saw of someone/something idiom
• if ever I saw one, at if ever there was one idiom

See all idioms and phrases

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• English   VerbVerb
  • Noun 
    • saw (TOOL)
    • saw (MUSICAL INSTRUMENT)
    • saw (SAYING)
• American   
  • Noun 
    • saw (TOOL)
  • Verb 
    • saw (USE TOOL)
• Examples

• Translations
• Grammar
• All translations

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