chew

(cho͞o)

v. chewed, chew·ing, chews

v.tr.

1. To bite and grind with the teeth; masticate.

2. To meditate on; ponder: chew a problem over.

v.intr.

1. To make a crushing and grinding motion with the teeth.

2. To cogitate; meditate: chewed on the difficulties ahead.

3. Informal To chew tobacco as a habit.

1. The act of chewing.

2. Something held in the mouth and chewed, especially a plug of tobacco.

Phrasal Verb:

chew out Slang

To reprimand; scold.

Idioms:

chew the cud Slang

To ponder over; meditate.

chew the fat/rag Slang

To talk together in a friendly, leisurely way; chat at length.

[Middle English cheuen, from Old English cēowan.]

chew′a·ble adj.

chew′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

chew out

(tr, adverb) informal chiefly US and Canadian to reprimand

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Verb

chew out - censure severely or angrily; "The mother scolded the child for entering a stranger's car"; "The deputy ragged the Prime Minister"; "The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup"

call on the carpet, chew up, chide, dress down, have words, bawl out, berate, rebuke, reproof, scold, take to task, call down, lambast, lambaste, lecture, reprimand, remonstrate, trounce, jaw, rag

castigate, chasten, chastise, objurgate, correct - censure severely; "She chastised him for his insensitive remarks"

brush down, tell off - reprimand; "She told the misbehaving student off"

criticise, criticize, pick apart, knock - find fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws; "The paper criticized the new movie"; "Don't knock the food--it's free"

chew

verb

To bite and grind with the teeth:

champ, chomp, chump, crump, crunch, masticate, munch.

Regional: chaw.

phrasal verb
chew on or over

To think or think about carefully and at length:

cogitate, consider, contemplate, deliberate, entertain, excogitate, meditate, mull, muse, ponder, reflect, revolve, ruminate, study, think, think out, think over, think through, turn over, weigh.

Idioms: cudgel one's brains, put on one's thinking cap, rack one's brain.

phrasal verb
chew out

Slang. To criticize for a fault or an offense:

admonish, call down, castigate, chastise, chide, dress down, rap, rebuke, reprimand, reproach, reprove, scold, tax, upbraid.

Informal: bawl out, lambaste.

Idioms: bring to task, call on the carpet, haul over the coals, let someone have it.