chew

Meaning

Verb

1. To crush with the teeth by repeated closing and opening of the jaws; done to food to soften it and break it down by the action of saliva before it is swallowed.
2. To grind, tear, or otherwise degrade or demolish something with teeth or as with teeth.
3. (informal) To think about something; to ponder; to chew over.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) The act of chewing; mastication with the mouth.
2. (countable, uncountable) Level of chewiness.
3. (countable, uncountable) A small sweet, such as a taffy, that is eaten by chewing.
4. (informal, uncountable) Chewing tobacco.
5. (countable) A plug or wad of chewing tobacco; chaw or a chaw.
6. (informal, uncountable) The condition of something being torn or ground up mechanically.

Synonyms

masticate

bite

munch

eat

🍽️

gnaw

champ

crunch

nibble

chaw

manducate

mastication

grind

cud

wad

jaw

chewing

quid

digest

chomp

crush

chew the cud

drink

🥤

plug

ruminate

share

suck

manduction

ingest

cogitate

jointly

kindle

light

marry

chow

chop

meditate

mull

mumble

chewing tobacco

browse

have a smattering of

punish

pups

bite off

reflect

reproach

be chewed

scrunch

chew off

sting

Translations

mâcher

masticar

masticare

kauen

mastiquer

mascar

mastigar

kauwen

mascar

mastegar

croquer

çiğnemek

morder

μασώ

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tʃuː/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: chewen

Inherited from Old English: ċēowan

Cognate with Western Frisian: kôgje

Cognate with Low German: käwwen

Cognate with Dutch: kauwen

Cognate with German: kauen

Cognate with Latin: gingīva

Cognate with Tokharian B: śuwaṃ

Cognate with Polish: żuć

Cognate with Persian: جویدن

Cognate with Pashto: ژول

Inherited from Middle English: chew

Inherited from Old English: *ċēaw

Cognate with Dutch: kauw

Cognate with Dutch: gekauw

Cognate with Western Frisian: gekau

In summary

From Middle English chewen, from Old English ċēowan, from Proto-West Germanic *keuwan, from Proto-Germanic *kewwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵyewh₁-. Cognate with West Frisian kôgje, Low German käwwen, Dutch kauwen, German kauen; also Latin gingīva (“gums”), Tocharian B śuwaṃ (“to eat”), Polish żuć (“to chew”), Persian جویدن (javidan), Pashto ژول (žovạl, “to bite, gnaw”).