noun
saw
saw
noun
1
A hand or power tool with a toothed or abrasive blade, used for cutting hard materials like wood or metal.
"He used a saw to cut the plank in half."
2
An old saying or proverb.
"His grandfather was full of old saws about hard work and patience."
verb
1
To cut something using a saw, or to make a back-and-forth motion like sawing.
"She sawed through the branch in a few strokes."
"The violinist sawed away at the strings."
How to Use Saw
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA cutting tool, the act of cutting with one, or (less commonly) an old saying.
Common pairings
saw wood
power saw
an old saw
Word Forms
sawed past tense, sawn past tense, saws plural, saws plural, Saws plural, Saws plural, saws singular
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He used a _____ to cut the plank in half.
Etymology
From Old English saga/sagu, from a Germanic root related to "cutting" — the "old saying" sense comes from a separate Old English word meaning "speech."