Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense chews, present participle chewing, past tense, past participle chewed
1. verb
When you chew food, you use your teeth to break it up in your mouth so that it becomes easier to swallow.
Be certain to eat slowly and chew your food extremely well. [VERB noun]
Daniel leaned back on the sofa, still chewing on his apple. [V + at/on]
...the sound of his mother chewing and swallowing. [VERB]
Synonyms: munch, bite, grind, champ More Synonyms of chew
2. verb
If you chew gum or tobacco, you keep biting it and moving it around your mouth to taste the flavour of it. You do not swallow it.
One girl was chewing gum. [VERB noun]
He chews tobacco constantly. [VERB noun]
3. verb
If you chew your lips or your fingernails, you keep biting them because you are nervous.
He chewed his lower lip nervously. [VERB noun]
4. verb
If a person or animal chews an object, they bite it with their teeth.
They pause and chew their pencils. [VERB noun]
One owner left his pet under the stairs where the animal chewed through electriccables. [VERB preposition]
5. countable noun
A chew is a sweet that you have to chew very hard before it becomes soft.
[British]
...a selection of penny chews.
6.
See to bite off more than one can chew
7.
See chew the fat
8. to chew the cud
Phrasal verbs:
See chew out
See chew over
See chew up
chew in British English
(tʃuː)
verb
1.
to work the jaws and teeth in order to grind (food); masticate
2.
to bite repeatedly
she chewed her nails anxiously
3. (intransitive)
to use chewing tobacco
4. chew the fat
noun
5.
the act of chewing
6.
something that is chewed
a chew of tobacco
Derived forms
chewable (ˈchewable)
adjective
chewer (ˈchewer)
noun
Word origin
Old English ceowan; related to Old High German kiuwan, Dutch kauwen, Latin gingīva a gum
chew in American English
(tʃu)
verb transitive
1.
to bite and grind or crush with the teeth; masticate
2. US, Slang
to rebuke severely; reprimand
usually with out
verb intransitive
3.
to chew something
4. US, Informal
to chew tobacco
noun
5.
the act of chewing
6.
something chewed or for chewing; specif., a portion of tobacco for chewing
Idioms:
chew over
chew the rag
chew the scenery
Derived forms
chewable (ˈchewable)
adjective
chewer (ˈchewer)
noun
Word origin
ME chewen < OE ceowan, to bite, chew < IE base *gjeu-, to chew > Pers ǰavidan, Ger kauen
More idioms containing
chew
chew the fat
bite off more than you can chew
Examples of 'chew' in a sentence
chew
Or that chewing gum for three minutes can have the same effect?
The Sun (2016)
We just sat down and had a cup of tea and chewed the fat for way longer than we should have.
The Sun (2016)
For the next hour, coach and player chewed the fat.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The former Bond star said he was not aware similar goods are a form of chewing tobacco.
The Sun (2016)
Chewing gum can remove up to 100million bacteria in just ten minutes, reducing your risk of tooth decay.
The Sun (2017)
It was a place people would come to get chewing tobacco and stuff like that.
Christianity Today (2000)
Food needs chewing and we have no teeth in our stomachs.
Chaitow, Leon Bad Breath (1994)
We sought safety and comfort in penny chews.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
One chewed gum while the other had no gum and kept their jaws still.
The Sun (2010)
She must get through loads of chewing gum too.
The Sun (2015)
And you might try chewing your food more slowly.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Between takes he smokes and chews gum.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
She has also chewed through one pair of my slippers and is keenly eyeing up the next.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Other teeth in the skull were too small to have allowed the animal to have chewed food well.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
They're chewing into their fat stores.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Or why not buy 2.1m penny chews?
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The Hangover star has quit tobacco chewing but it sounds like he could take up the habit again.
The Sun (2011)
In other languages
chew
British English: chew /tʃuː/ VERB
When you chew food, you break it up with your teeth and make it easier to swallow.
Be certain to eat slowly and chew your food extremely well.
He leaned back on the sofa, still chewing on his apple.
American English: chew
Arabic: يَـمْضُغُ
Brazilian Portuguese: mastigar
Chinese: 嚼
Croatian: žvakati
Czech: žvýkat
Danish: tygge
Dutch: kauwen
European Spanish: masticar
Finnish: pureskella
French: mâcher
German: kauen
Greek: μασώ
Italian: masticare
Japanese: 噛む
Korean: 씹다
Norwegian: tygge
Polish: przeżuć
European Portuguese: mastigar
Romanian: a mesteca
Russian: жевать
Latin American Spanish: masticar
Swedish: tugga
Thai: เคี้ยว
Turkish: çiğnemek
Ukrainian: жувати
Vietnamese: nhai
All related terms of 'chew'
chew up
If you chew food up , you chew it until it is completely crushed or soft.
chew out
If you chew someone out , you tell them off in a very angry way.
chew over
If you chew something over , you keep thinking about it.
chew the cud
to reflect or think over something
chew the fat
If people chew the fat , they talk in a relaxed , informal way.
chew the rag
to converse idly; chat
chew-'n'-spew
any fast-food restaurant considered to be serving poor quality food
chew someone's ear
to reprimand severely
chew the scenery
to overact , as in a play or film
to chew the cud
When animals such as cows or sheep chew the cud , they slowly chew their partly-digested food over and over again in their mouth before finally swallowing it.
bite off more than one can chew
to attempt a task beyond one's capability
bite off more than you can chew
to try to do too much
to bite off more than one can chew
If you say that someone has bitten off more than they can chew , you mean that they are trying to do something which is too difficult for them.
Chinese translation of 'chew'
chew
(tʃuː)
vt
[food, gum]嚼 (jiáo)
[pen, fingernails]咬 (yǎo)
vi
咀嚼 (jǔjué)
(verb)
Definition
to work the jaws and teeth in order to grind (food)
Be careful to eat slowly and chew your food well.
Synonyms
munch
Sheep were munching their way through a yellow carpet of leaves.
bite
Llamas won't bite or kick.
grind
champ
crunch
She sucked an ice cube and crunched it loudly.
gnaw
Woodlice attack living plants and gnaw at the stems.
chomp
masticate
Her mouth was working, as if she was masticating some tasty titbit.
idiom
See chew something over
Additional synonyms
in the sense of bite
Definition
(of animals or insects) to injure by puncturing (the skin) with the teeth or fangs
Llamas won't bite or kick.
Synonyms
nip,
cut,
tear,
wound,
grip,
snap,
crush,
rend (literary),
pierce,
champ,
pinch,
chew,
crunch,
clamp,
nibble,
gnaw,
masticate
in the sense of crunch
Definition
to bite or chew with a noisy crushing sound
She sucked an ice cube and crunched it loudly.
Synonyms
chomp,
champ,
munch,
masticate,
chew noisily,
grind
in the sense of gnaw
Definition
to bite or chew constantly so as to wear away bit by bit
Woodlice attack living plants and gnaw at the stems.