buzz saw
1
4.4
- noun
- /bʌz sɔ/
:
sierra circular
- The workshop was filled with the loud noise of the buzz saw slicing through lumber.
- buzz saw used to cut
Examples
-
Soldiers trudge through the dwindling community with buzz saws; several days later, army trucks remove the fallen.
Blog text (10) -
- Sounds like a buzz saw.
-
In the maintenance lock up there, there is a buzz saw.
-
Hank stands before a display of circular buzz saws.
Fiction book (2002) -
Down at the lumber mill, they tell the story... about the nearsighted fella... who liked playin' around with a buzz saw.
-
The carpenter used a buzz saw to efficiently cut through thick wooden beams.
-
He was cautious while operating the buzz saw to avoid any accidents.
Synonyms
5
3.5
A power tool with a round blade that cuts wood or metal
3
3.2
A machine with a blade that has teeth and cuts wood or other materials
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is a straightforward attributive noun combination: 'buzz' (a humming noise) modifies 'saw' (a cutting tool), so the meaning 'a saw that buzzes / a power-driven saw' is directly inferable from the parts. This compositional pattern is common and cross-linguistically accessible, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can understand the basic meaning without prior exposure.
Etymology
Buzz saw: The noun buzz saw comes from the loud 'buzz' a fast, round blade makes when it spins and cuts wood, with buzz as the sound and saw as the tool. That's why buzz saw now means a machine saw with a fast, round blade that cuts wood.