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pew

pew

110 5.3
A long bench with a back in a church for people to sit on
  • noun
  • /pjuː/
translation icon : banco de la iglesia
  • When they led me in behind the casket, the only pew vacant was that same pew.

Sit them on the Pew right next to you so you can check them.

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Examples

  • I know an old lady back home, broke her leg stepping into a church pew.

  • I noticed you just now, in the church, sitting in the pews.

  • Sit them on the Pew right next to you so you can check them.

  • The holding services take the front pew and join on in.

  • We'd go to the back pew, and the seat is still covered in red velvet.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • On the very front pew, a priest sits, head bent low in prayer.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Perhaps a hundred people or more stood in the ancient pews, and each held a single lit candle.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Friends of WSM and the performers sit in two pews against the backdrop.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Bedicheks and Nowaks soon sat comfortably in the pews of the Baptist Church.

    Academic text (1996)
  • During the service, the congregation sat quietly on the pew as the pastor delivered the sermon.

Synonyms

seat
vspew
1.0

A place for one person to sit, for example in a theater

describes long shared church row furniture rather than a single place
bench
vspew
210 1.0

A long hard seat for several people, often made of wood

is specific to church row units and usually includes a back
wooden pew
vspew
1 3.5

A long bench in a church where people sit during services

is the broader term that covers many materials and styles
church bench
vspew
1.4

A long wooden seat with a back for people to sit in a church

is the general single-word term for that church furniture
seats
vspew
1.0

An area in a room or building with places for people to sit

is used mainly for long church row furniture rather than general venue places

Idioms

to take a pew
  • Archaic
1 9.8

To sit down, often on a church seat but also anywhere

Compounds

1 3.5

A long bench in a church where people sit during services

How Comfortable

armchair
42 1.0
pew
110 5.3
bench
210 1.0
stool
95 1.0

Surface Forms

pew singular
pews plural

Etymology

Pew for a church bench comes from an old word meaning 'raised place', like the familiar word podium. It first named a small raised area and then the bench by that area, so today a pew is the long seat in a church.