pew

noun

ˈpyü 

1

: a compartment in the auditorium of a church providing seats for several persons

2

: one of the benches with backs and sometimes doors fixed in rows in a church

Examples of pew in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Police are searching for a crook who pilfered an elderly woman’s purse from her pew at a church in Brooklyn, cops said Friday. —Roni Jacobson, New York Daily News, 29 Mar. 2025

Does etiquette dictate that those arriving first to an event held in a church must always move to the middle of the pew? —Judith Martin, The Mercury News, 5 Mar. 2025

Dozens sat in wooden pews and white folding chairs on a Saturday morning at the Shawnee Indian Mission for an educational event about one of the historical site’s founders. —Taylor O’Connor, Kansas City Star, 13 Mar. 2025

America may have been some years behind Europe in the process, but its pews were emptying steadily and inexorably. —Ruth Graham, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English pewe, from Middle French dialect (Picardy) puie balustrade, from Latin podia, plural of podium parapet, podium, from Greek podion base, diminutive of pod-, pous foot — more at foot

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pew

• blew
• blue
• boo
• brew
• chew
• chou
• clue
• coo
• coup
• crew
• cue
• dew

Kids Definition

pew

noun

ˈpyü 

: one of the benches with backs and sometimes doors set in rows in a church