chew

The word “chew” means to repeatedly bite and grind food with the teeth before swallowing. In plain terms, to grind food with your teeth, or informally, to mull something over in your mind.

“Chew” is pronounced choo (/t͡ʃ(j)u/ in IPA).

Here is “chew” used in a sentence: “Chew your food properly before you swallow it.”

Depending on how it is used, “chew” can be a verb and a noun.

The word “chew” comes from Old English. From Old English ceowan, part of an old Germanic word family shared with Dutch kauwen and German kauen, going back to a very old root meaning "to grind" or "gnaw.".

“Chew” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Chew” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to repeatedly bite and grind food with the teeth before swallowing.

To bite means to use the teeth to cut into or grip something in a single action, while to chew involves repeatedly grinding food with the teeth before swallowing. Chewing is the ongoing process that usually follows an initial bite.

"Chew something over" is an informal way of saying to think something over carefully, the way food is worked over slowly by the teeth. It's typically used for decisions or problems that need consideration before acting.

As a noun, a "chew" refers to a soft sweet or a small toy or treat meant to be chewed, such as a dog chew. As a verb, "chew" describes the action of biting and grinding food with the teeth, so the noun and verb forms refer to related but distinct things.