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

Christopher Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee were childhood friends, altar boys raised in the Catholic pews and prosperous suburbs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. —Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025

Then there’s the church scene where two girls stifle their giggles as a woman sitting in a nearby pew admonishes them to quiet themselves during the service. —Timeka Tounsel, Forbes.com, 15 May 2025

And then, with their faces covered and heads bowed, the ‘maids walk to the church and file into the pews for Serena’s wedding to High Commander Wharton. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 13 May 2025

The top of its altar had been broken, and shelling had punched holes in its stone walls and in the blue dome over the sanctuary, scattering debris across the wooden pews. —Ben Hubbard, New York Times, 14 Apr. 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