chew

verb \ ˈchü \

|Updated on: 20 Aug 2018

Examples: chew in a Sentence

Definition of chew

chewed; chewing; chews

transitive verb

1 : to crush, grind, or gnaw (something, such as food) with or as if with the teeth : masticate

2 : to injure, destroy, or consume as if by chewing —usually used with up

chewing up profits

intransitive verb

: to chew something; specifically : to chew tobacco

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chewable

play \-ə-bəl\ adjective

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chewer

noun

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chewy

play \ˈchü-ē\ adjective

— chew on

: to think about : ponder

chewing on the new developments

— chew the fat or less commonly chew the rag

: to make friendly familiar conversation : chat

See chew defined for English-language learners

See chew defined for kids

Examples of chew in a Sentence

We were taught to chew our food thoroughly before swallowing.
He chews with his mouth open.
You're not allowed to chew gum in class.
A mouse chewed through the cord.
The dog chewed a hole in the rug.

Recent Examples of chew from the Web

In that time, he’s seen as much as 75 feet of shoreline chewed away in a year by Lake Michigan waves and storms.

— tony briscoe, chicagotribune.com, "What happens when Lake Superior has too much water? It dumps it into an already overflowing Lake Michigan," 13 July 2018
This toy has held up to daily playing and chewing for the last five months.

— the editors, Outside Online, "The Best Dog Toys, According to Happy Dogs," 11 July 2018
Nickerson, 61, is best known for playing the gum-chewing Violet Beauregarde opposite Gene Wilder in the 1971 classic.

— alexia fernandez, PEOPLE.com, "Willy Wonka Star Denise Nickerson Suffers Serious Stroke Leaving Her in the ICU," 11 July 2018
In addition to the most dangerous animals in the Western Hemisphere, the Mountaineer Museum at 143 Clay St. featured mountain lions, eagles and two elk, which chewed their cud in an open stall near the front of the room.

— gary kamiya, SFChronicle.com, "The original Grizzly Adams kept his bears on a chain in SF," 7 July 2018
Wildfires are tearing across California, Colorado, New Mexico and other Western states this week, chewing up bone-dry mountainsides, scorching buildings and forcing hundreds of people to evacuate from their homes.

— New York Times, "‘The New Normal’: Wildfires Roar Across the West, Again," 2 July 2018
Still, the wreckage of six children and two dogs is everywhere in evidence: chewed pillows, fights underway, dirty dishes on the table, crayons on the floor.

— leslie kendall dye, Longreads, "City on a Hill," 23 June 2018
On a course that has chewed up most of his competitors, Johnson played through strong winds on Thursday and unexpected rain on Friday.

— brian costa, WSJ, "Dustin Johnson Opts for Poise Over Power at U.S. Open," 15 June 2018
On a day when Shinnecock Hills chewed up some of the best names in the game, a 21-year-old kid from Corydon, Ind. who is by all accounts a just fine golfer got to play in one of the sport’s premier events.

— joan niesen, SI.com, "Ball State's Timothy Wiseman Takes Unlikely Road to U.S. Open," 15 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chew.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.