maw

noun

\ ˈmȯ

Definition of maw

1 : the receptacle into which food is taken by swallowing:

a : stomach

b : crop

2a : the throat, gullet, or jaws especially of a voracious animal the gaping maw of the tiger

b : something suggestive of a gaping maw the dark maw of the cave

Examples of maw in a Sentence

the gaping maw of the tiger

Recent Examples on the Web

Will bespoke labor replace every job lost to the maw of automation? — Jay W. Richards, WSJ, "The ‘Everything Handmade’ Trend Will Curb Job Losses," 20 July 2018 After a summer stuffing her maw with salmon that were hers and hers alone, Beadnose has the blubber to show for it. — Karin Brulliard, The Seattle Times, "America’s fattest bear has now been crowned," 9 Oct. 2018 The whirlpool shrank and then disappeared as the lake level lowered, but not before its ominous brown maw made screens and newspapers all over the world. — Ken Jennings, Condé Nast Traveler, "This Texas Lake Developed a Boat-Swallowing Whirlpool," 3 Sep. 2018 Females bear striking blue orbs that dangle above their heads like neon fishing rods, bright enough to lure prey up to twice their size into their toothy maws. — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian, "Why Bioluminescence Evolved to Be Red Light, and Blue," 26 June 2018 With a gaping maw and uneven, jagged teeth, its appearance is the stuff of nightmares. — Washington Post, "Ugly delicacy? Industry touts weird looking Monkfish," 1 Mar. 2018 The Alfa badge and its potential meanings of a serpent eating a human or a man being reborn from its maw keep one guessing. — Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press, "What's it like to drive a historic Italian roadster? We find out," 8 June 2018 That was just to escape the maw and has nothing to do with the ship being fast in general or about navigating a course in the shortest possible distance. — Dan Gvozden, The Hollywood Reporter, "74 'Star Wars' Questions 'Solo' Insisted on Answering," 1 June 2018 Cars, swallowed whole, have sunk into gaping maws as if on a disaster movie set. — Howard Cohen, miamiherald, "'Sinkhole fiasco' plagues Florida neighborhood, as a dozen holes open in the ground | Miami Herald," 2 May 2018

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