mew

¹

[ myoo ]

noun

1. the tiny, high-pitched sound a cat or kitten makes.
2. the characteristic sound a gull makes.

verb (used without object)

1. to make a mew or emit a similar sound.

mew

²

[ myoo ]

noun

1. a small gull, Larus canus, of Eurasia and northwestern North America.

mew

³

[ myoo ]

noun

1. a cage for hawks, especially while molting.
2. a pen in which poultry is fattened.
3. a place of retirement or concealment.
4. mews, (usually used with a singular verb) Chiefly British.
   1. (formerly) an area of stables built around a small street.
   2. a street having small apartments converted from such stables.

verb (used with object)

1. Archaic. to shut up in or as in a mew; confine; conceal (often followed by up ).

mew

⁴

[ myoo ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to shed (feathers); molt.

mew

¹

/ mjuː /

noun

1. a room or cage for hawks, esp while moulting

verb

1. troften foll byup to confine (hawks or falcons) in a shelter, cage, etc, usually by tethering them to a perch
2. to confine, conceal

mew

²

/ mjuː /

verb

1. intr (esp of a cat) to make a characteristic high-pitched cry

noun

1. such a sound

mew

³

/ mjuː /

noun

1. any seagull, esp the common gull, Larus canus Also calledmew gullsea mew

mew

⁴

/ mjuː /

verb

1. intr (of hawks or falcons) to moult
2. obsolete.
   tr to shed (one's covering, clothes, etc)

Other Words From

• mewer noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mew¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English meuen; imitative

Origin of mew²

First recorded in before 900; Middle English; Old English mǣwe; cognate with German Müwe

Origin of mew³

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English mue, from Middle French, akin to muer “to molt”; mew ⁴

Origin of mew⁴

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English mewen, from Old French muer “to molt,” from Latin mūtāre “to change”

Word History and Origins

Origin of mew¹

C14: from Old French mue, from muer to moult, from Latin mūtāre to change

Origin of mew²

C14: imitative

Origin of mew³

Old English mǣw; compare Old Saxon mēu, Middle Dutch mēwe

Origin of mew⁴

C14: from Old French muer to moult, from Latin mūtāre to change

Example Sentences

Short-billed gulls, known as mew gulls until 2021, are omnivorous and highly adaptable.

From Science Daily

Fig slogged into the room with a soft “mew” and then rubbed up against my leg.

From Literature

Chandler Investments Limited claimed the embassy left a rented Wellington mews house without covering cleaning and other costs.

From BBC

Ewan says "he mewed and he cried, and in the end, he got out and came home under his own steam."

From Salon

"Now, doesn't that look normal?" she mews to the studio audience as the camera zooms in on her creation.

From Salon