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Meaning & use

paw

noun, verb·Everyday

Last updated

UK/pɔː/
US/pɔː/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    The soft foot of an animal such as a cat, dog or bear, usually with claws or pads.

    Grammar: Countable: a paw, four paws.

    Patterns

    • the paw of an animal
    • a dog's paw
    • give someone a paw

    The puppy hurt its paw on a piece of glass.

    The cat washed its face with one paw.

    Muddy paw prints covered the kitchen floor.

  2. verbtransitive or intransitive

    To touch, scratch or hit something with a paw, or to handle something clumsily with your hands.

    Grammar: Can take an object or be followed by at: the dog paws the door, or paws at it.

    Patterns

    • paw at something
    • paw something

    The dog pawed at the door to be let out.

    The horse pawed the ground impatiently.

    Stop pawing through my bag and just ask for what you want.

  3. nouncountableinformalhumorous

    A person's hand, used in a humorous or critical way, especially a large or clumsy one.

    Grammar: Usually informal or rude: keep your paws off.

    Patterns

    • keep your paws off something

    Keep your paws off my sandwich!

    He reached out a huge paw and shook my hand.

    Get your dirty paws off the freshly painted wall.

Word forms

pluralpaws
third person singularpaws
past tensepawed
-ing formpawing

Common combinations

paw print
We followed the bear's paw prints through the snow.
paw at the ground
The bull began to paw at the ground.
injured paw
The vet bandaged the dog's injured paw.
keep your paws off
Keep your paws off my laptop.
a sore paw
The cat limped on a sore paw.

Synonyms and how they differ

foot
It is the general word for any animal or human foot, but paw is used mainly for animals with pads and claws.
hoof
A hoof is the hard foot of horses and cows, so it is not used for soft-footed animals.
claw
A claw is only the sharp nail on the paw, not the whole foot.

Word family

pawing noun
scratching or touching with a paw
pawed adjective
touched or scratched by a paw, as in pawed-over goods
pawprint noun
a mark left by an animal's paw
pawpaw noun
a tropical fruit, unrelated to animal paws

Commonly confused: paw or pour? paw or pore?

paw vs pour

Paw and pour sound alike in some British accents, but pour means to make liquid flow.

paw vs pore

A pore is a tiny opening in skin, and it is pronounced like paw in many accents.

Practice

The dog lifted one ____ and waited for the treat.

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