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to saw

to saw

85 1.0
To cut wood using a tool with a thin toothed blade
  • verb
  • /sɔː/
translation icon : serrar
  • He sawed the wooden boards into smaller pieces to fit them into the frame.
  • saw wood
  • saw down a tree
  • cut and saw

But it's like hand sawing through a log, right?

Examples

  • You don't discover it until after you've sawn the wood.

  • I brought a ripsaw up here, chopped, and sawed until I was exhausted.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • But it's like hand sawing through a log, right?

  • A branch that has finally been sawed at suddenly collapses against the truck.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • Just keeping warm took hours every day, not only tending the fires, but sawing and splitting wood.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Lloyd appears at the diner's door with a sawed-off 10-gauge Winchester lever-action shotgun.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Using a saw, she carefully sawed through the thick branch in the garden.

  • The carpenter saws wood every day to create beautiful furniture.

Synonyms

to hew
vsto saw
8 7.9

To cut or shape wood with a heavy sharp tool like an axe

uses a toothed edge in back-and-forth motion rather than forceful chopping
to jigsaw
vsto saw
1 4.6

To cut shapes in wood with a small electric saw

uses a simple handheld toothed tool rather than that powered blade
to hew out
vsto saw
7.3

Cut a piece of wood or stone into a shape with a tool like an axe

is for cutting with a toothed blade instead of heavy manual chopping tools

Antonyms

169 2.9

To put parts together to make something like a machine or toy

Idioms

to saw logs
  • Informal
1 8.6

To make loud breathing noises while sleeping

to saw wood
  • Informal
9.0

Make loud snoring noises while sleeping

Phrasal Verbs

1 2.6

Cut wood with a saw

Compounds

5 3.5

A power tool with a round blade that cuts wood or metal

table saw
  • Specialized
5 4.2

A tool for cutting wood using a round blade that sticks up through a table

4 7.7

A common saying many people repeat that gives simple advice

3 3.2

A machine with a blade that has teeth and cuts wood or other materials

band saw
  • Specialized
2 3.7

A machine with a long thin metal band with teeth that cuts wood or other materials

scroll saw
  • Specialized
2 7.3

A small electric saw with a thin blade for cutting detailed curves in wood or thin materials

1 4.4

A machine with a round metal blade that turns quickly to cut wood

1 2.5

A portable machine with a moving chain of teeth for cutting wood

reciprocating saw
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A portable power tool with a blade that moves back and forth to cut wood or metal

crosscut saw
  • Specialized
1 5.1

A hand saw for cutting wood across the grain

1 2.1

A saw used with one hand to cut wood

saber saw
  • Specialized
1 6.7

A handheld power tool that cuts wood and other materials with a blade that moves back and forth

1 7.2

A small palm with spiny leaves that grows in clumps in the southeastern United States

coping saw
  • Specialized
1 6.9

A small hand saw with a thin blade in a U-shaped frame for cutting curves in wood

1 6.8

A small hand tool with a long narrow blade for cutting tight curves and holes in wood or drywall

1 3.5

A tool you hold in one hand for cutting metal like pipes

A hand saw used by carpenters to cut wood

compass saw
  • Specialized
7.9

A small tool with a long, narrow, pointed blade for cutting tight curves in wood

crown saw
  • Specialized
8.4

A saw that cuts large round holes with a hollow tube that has teeth

cutoff saw
  • Specialized
7.1

A saw used to cut wood across the grain at right angles

dovetail saw
  • Specialized
7.5

A small saw with a stiff back and fine teeth for cutting small angled joints in wood

back saw
  • Specialized
6.0

A saw with a stiff top edge used for making small, precise cuts in wood

A small portable saw with teeth on the blade that closes into its handle

lumberman's saw
  • Archaic
7.6

A large tool with handles at both ends used by two people to cut wood

3.6

A hand saw with a thin blade and many small teeth for cutting metal and other hard materials

A handsaw with a narrow blade for cutting tree or bush branches

A small tool with a round blade that you carry to cut wood or other materials

A small machine with a round blade that you hold to cut wood or metal

saw set
  • Specialized
9.6

A small tool that bends every other tooth of a saw blade outward

saw log
  • Specialized
6.8

A large log with good wood that is cut into boards for furniture or building

A long saw with handles at both ends used by two people to cut wood

A large cutting tool with handles at both ends that two people use to cut wood

How Deep

to sever
100 5.6
to saw
85 1.0
cut
1.0
to nick
33 3.5
to scratch
161 1.1

Surface Forms

saw infinitive
sawed past
sawed past participle
sawing present participle
saws third person singular

Etymology

Saw (verb) comes from the name of the tool saw — to 'saw' is 'to cut' with that tool, which is why the action and the tool share the same name.