mew

1 of 5

noun (1)

ˈmyü 

: gull

especially : a small gull (Larus canus) of Eurasia and western North America

mew

2 of 5

verb (1)

mewed; mewing; mews

intransitive verb

: to utter a mew or similar sound

gulls mewed over the bay

transitive verb

: to utter by mewing : meow

mew

3 of 5

noun (2)

: meow

mew

4 of 5

noun (3)

1

: an enclosure for trained hawks

—usually used in plural

2

: a place for hiding or retirement

3

mews plural in form but singular or plural in construction chiefly British

a(1)

: stables usually with living quarters built around a court

(2)

: living quarters adapted from such stables

b

: back street : alley

mew

5 of 5

verb (2)

mewed; mewing; mews

transitive verb

: to shut up : confine

—often used with up

Synonyms

Verb (2)

• box (in)
• cage
• closet
• coop (up)
• corral
• encage
• encase
• enclose
• inclose
• envelop
• fence (in)
• hedge
• hem (in)
• house
• immure
• include
• pen
• wall (in)

Examples of mew in a Sentence

Verb (2)

bored with being mewed up in a stuffy house all day

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Additionally, lots of people are traveling and being in mew spaces, especially in legal states. —Tribune Content Agency, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024

Meanwhile, the mews house sports soaring vaulted ceilings, reclaimed wood floors, a kitchen, and a dining area. —Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 22 July 2024

In addition to the large family kitchen, there’s a second a kitchen in the mews house. —Laura Euler For Dirt.com, Robb Report, 22 July 2021

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the ownership of specific vehicles that The Guardian saw at the royal mews. —Louisa Ballhaus, Robb Report, 19 Apr. 2023

Placing Joe in a mews house stemmed from the need for a rear window between his flat and Kate and Malcom’s apartment. —Kelly Allen, House Beautiful, 10 Mar. 2023

And then, of course, now the mews house is an incredibly fashionable place to live, and incredibly expensive. —Natalia Senanayake, Peoplemag, 8 Mar. 2023

Hear that 'catlike' mew? —Jacob Job, Scientific American, 2 July 2021

Once its shoulder fracture heals enough to be more mobile, it will be moved into a mew – a space resembling a stall with walls extending up to a vaulted ceiling. —Sophie Hills, The Christian Science Monitor, 8 Nov. 2022

Verb

There’s also plenty of mewing memes for Ewan Mitchell’s Aemond, and several comparing Jace and Aemond’s facial expressions this season. —Jennifer Maas, Variety, 5 Aug. 2024

Still, #mewing has been the subject of hundreds of thousands of videos on TikTok and YouTube — and the r/mewing community on Reddit consists of more than 60,000 members. —Angela Yang, NBC News, 26 June 2024

Cow elk communicate to other cows, as well as their calves, by mewing or chirping, another elk vocalization that can be heard for a significant distance. —Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 28 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, from Old English mǣw; akin to Old Norse mār gull

Verb (1)

Middle English mewen, of imitative origin

Noun (3)

Middle English mewe, from Anglo-French mue, muwe, from muer to change, molt, from Latin mutare to change — more at mutable

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun (2)

1596, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing mew

• sea mew

Kids Definition

mew

1 of 3 noun

ˈmyü 

: gull entry 1

especially : a small gull of Eurasia and western North America

mew

2 of 3 noun

: meow

mew verb

mew

3 of 3 noun

1

: a cage for hawks

2

plural, chiefly British : stables usually with living quarters built around a court

Etymology

Noun

Old English mæw "gull"

Noun

Middle English mewen (verb) "meow"; a word imitating the sound of a cat

Noun

Middle English mewe "a cage for hawks," from early French mue (same meaning), from muer "to change, molt," from Latin mutare "to change"