maw

¹

[ maw ]

noun

1. the mouth, throat, or gullet of an animal, especially a carnivorous mammal.
2. the crop or craw of a fowl.
3. the stomach, especially that of an animal.
4. a cavernous opening that resembles the open jaws of an animal:

   the gaping maw of hell.

5. the symbolic or theoretical center of a voracious hunger or appetite of any kind:

   the ravenous maw of Death.

maw

²

[ maw ]

noun

, Informal.

1. mother ¹.

maw

/ mɔː /

noun

1. the mouth, throat, crop, or stomach of an animal, esp of a voracious animal
2. informal.
   the mouth or stomach of a greedy person

Word History and Origins

Origin of maw¹

before 900; Middle English mawe, Old English maga; cognate with Dutch maag, German Magen, Old Norse magi

Origin of maw²

Variant of ma

Word History and Origins

Origin of maw¹

Old English maga; related to Middle Dutch maghe, Old Norse magi

Example Sentences

“I’m surprised Mr. Pollono hasn’t already been snapped up by the hungry maw of television,” Isherwood presciently remarked in an aside.

From Los Angeles Times

If this much solar mass in a young universe was annually being forever lost into the gaping maw of a black hole, it would be less unusual.

From Salon

Sensing what seemed to be an epic blunder that would take us directly into the maw of vehicular misadventure, we exchanged nervous glances in the back seat and checked our watches.

From Los Angeles Times

But lately I’ve been worried that the glut of documentary content required to fill the yawning maw of streamers is putting this axiom to the test more frequently.

From New York Times

As cities grew and the maw of industry required workers, the municipal forces that monitored immigrants broke strikes.

From Los Angeles Times