Meaning & use

chew

verb·Everyday

To bite and grind food repeatedly with the teeth before swallowing.

See it in a sentence

The dog happily chewed on its new rubber toy all afternoon.

She reminded her son to chew his food slowly instead of rushing through dinner.

A note on using this word

Chew can also mean to think something over carefully, as in the phrase 'chew on an idea.'

Words with a similar meaning

gnawmunch

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

Words with an opposite meaning

swallow

Another way to use it

2. verb

To think about or consider something carefully over a period of time.

He asked for a week to chew over the job offer before deciding.

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