saw

1 of 4

past tense of see

saw

2 of 4

noun (1)

: a hand or power tool or a machine used to cut hard material (such as wood, metal, or bone) and equipped usually with a toothed blade or disk
sawlike adjective

saw

3 of 4

verb

sawed ˈsȯd How to pronounce saw (audio) ; sawed or sawn ˈsȯn How to pronounce saw (audio) ; sawing ˈsȯ(-)iŋ How to pronounce saw (audio)

transitive verb

1
: to cut with a saw
2
: to produce or form by cutting with a saw
3
: to slash as though with a saw

intransitive verb

1
a
: to use a saw
b
: to cut with or as if with a saw
2
: to undergo cutting with a saw
3
: to make motions as though using a saw
sawed at the reins
sawer noun

saw

4 of 4

noun

Examples of saw in a Sentence

Verb He sawed the boards in half. This blade is too dull for sawing.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The few gas stations that were open saw lines stretching for several blocks long. Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024 In parts of California and much of the Great Basin, land owners have declared war on pinyon pines and juniper trees, clearing them from rangelands with chains, bulldozers, saws and herbicides. Louis Sahagún, Los Angeles Times, 11 Feb. 2024 In addition to a drill/driver, this kit also comes with an impact driver, a reciprocating saw, a circular saw, an oscillating multi-tool, and a powerful LED work light to brightly illuminate your workspace. Kat De Naoum, Better Homes & Gardens, 5 Jan. 2024 In the Hottentots Holland mountain range this month, the revs of their chain saws echoed down the escarpment. Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 28 Feb. 2024 Different Types Of Transfer Student mobility between institutions can occur in three directions, and while every type of transfer saw gains, the rates of increase differed among them. Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024 Such an experience is not limited to tennis rackets but includes every tool humans create and master: brooms, rakes, spoons, fishing rods, needles, saws, pencils, paintbrushes, saxophones, computer mice, prosthetics, wheelchairs and far more. Chip Colwell, Smithsonian Magazine, 26 Feb. 2024 The steady sounds of circular saws and hammers punctuated the air as volunteers fanned out blocks in every direction. Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Feb. 2024 It was built specifically to withstand a number of cutting attempts, including hacksaws, bolt saws, cutters, and grinders. Maggie Slepian, Travel + Leisure, 5 Feb. 2024
Verb
The workers sawed through flexible yellow gas hose, pulled it from the walls and hauled it out to the sidewalk. Jeff Brady, NPR, 4 Mar. 2024 The sawing crews operating around Lukeville have been especially brazen. Nick Miroff, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2023 Doctors struggled to save his life, and to do so, sawed off his left leg. Toby Muse, Rolling Stone, 3 Mar. 2024 The writer Lauren Groff, who moved to the state 18 years ago, recalled another Florida meme, in which someone saws the dangling state off the map. Patricia Mazzei Jason Andrew, New York Times, 25 Feb. 2024 Just don’t blame me when your kids start trying to saw the furniture in half at home. Laura Parker, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Then, in 2021, they were suddenly removed overnight by a landscape contractor who — to the horror of preservationists — sawed them off at the knees to conduct a water main repair, leaving behind only their little hooves. Curbed, 12 Jan. 2024 The shell is stiff and leathery, requiring a bit of sawing to open. Hannah Goldfield, The New Yorker, 8 Jan. 2024 The crews generally stop sawing when Border Patrol vehicles arrive, only to resume when agents leave. Nick Miroff, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'saw.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English sagh, sawe, going back to Old English sagu (strong feminine noun), going back to Germanic *sagō (whence also Middle Dutch sage "saw," Old High German saga, Old Icelandic sǫg) beside *segō (whence Middle Dutch sege "saw," Old High German sega), noun derivatives from a dialectal Indo-European verbal base *sek- "cut," whence also Middle Irish tescaid "(s/he) cuts, severs" (regularized from a presumed verb doˑesc, perhaps from *to-eks-sk-), Latin secō, secāre "to cut, sever, make an incision," Old Church Slavic sěkǫ, sěšti "to cut down, fell, hew," Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian sijèčēm, sjȅći "to cut, chop, hew"

Note: The base *sek- is peculiar to northwest (or European) Indo-European, being attested in Celtic, Italic, Germanic, and Slavic; *sek- is perhaps ultimately the same base as *skeh2-, *skh2- "cut open, flay"; see etymology and note at science.

Verb

Middle English sawen, derivative of sawe saw entry 2

Noun

Middle English sawe, from Old English sagu discourse; akin to Old High German & Old Norse saga tale, Old English secgan to say — more at say entry 1

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of saw was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near saw

Cite this Entry

“Saw.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saw. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

saw

1 of 4

past of see

saw

2 of 4 noun
: a hand or power tool or a machine used to cut hard material and equipped usually with a tooth-edged blade

saw

3 of 4 verb
sawed ˈsȯd How to pronounce saw (audio) ; sawed or sawn ˈsȯn How to pronounce saw (audio) ; sawing ˈsȯ(-)iŋ How to pronounce saw (audio)
: to cut or shape with a saw

saw

4 of 4 noun
: a common saying : proverb

Medical Definition

saw

1 of 2

past of see

saw

2 of 2 noun
: a hand or power tool used to cut hard material (as bone) and equipped usually with a toothed blade or disk

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