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View synonyms for saw

saw

1

[saw]

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.

saw

2

[saw]

verb

  1. simple past tense of see.

saw

3

[saw]

noun

  1. a sententious saying; maxim; proverb.

    He could muster an old saw for every occasion.

saw

1

/ 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

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

/ 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

/ 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
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Other Word Forms

  • sawer noun
  • sawlike adjective
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Word History and Origins

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 saw2

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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of saw1

Old English sagu; related to Old Norse sog, Old High German saga, Latin secāre to cut, secūris axe

Origin of saw2

Old English sagu a saying; related to saga
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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. saw wood, to snore loudly while sleeping.

see old saw.
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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.

The Liberal Democrats saw a significant boost in membership in the run-up to Brexit in 2020, when the party was campaigning for a second referendum.

Read more on BBC

My family had sold it long ago, but I visited Verkhnya Krynytsya at least once a year before it was occupied, and saw the house sitting apparently abandoned, its garden overgrown.

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"I saw displaced children just spending their time in queues for food and water - not having a childhood, and I wanted to do something, for them," she says.

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“If we saw evidence of smoke or heat, then we would provide resources to that. So that, I know that’s a common practice, and it’s just, it’s a very difficult fire burning underground.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He said he first met the parents in 1995, before Rinderknecht was born, but watched him grow up to a teenager, which was about the last time he saw him.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

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Related Words

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.

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