maw

noun

ˈmȯ 

1

: the receptacle into which food is taken by swallowing:

a

: stomach

b

: crop

2

a

: 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

Plus that stuff would eventually get devoured by the maw too since AI models could just grab it to train on. —Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 12 June 2025

Since February, Donald Trump and Linda McMahon have blocked these borrowers' path out of default and are now feeding them into the maw of the government debt collection machine. —Aliss Higham, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 June 2025

Not all of the material from the wrecked star falls around the black hole and eventually into its maw, however. —Robert Lea, Space.com, 30 May 2025

What kind of people back a government that feeds an ally into the maw of Russian authoritarian expansionism and then blames the victim for it? —Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English maga; akin to Old High German mago stomach, Lithuanian makas purse

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for maw

• aah
• ah
• ahh
• aw
• awe
• bah
• blah
• bra
• caw
• claw
• craw
• daw

Kids Definition

maw

noun

ˈmȯ 

1

: a body part (as a stomach or a crop) that receives swallowed food

2

: the throat, gullet, or jaws especially of a flesh-eating animal