mew
mew Lexical Profile
mew Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The characteristic high-pitched, soft crying sound made by a cat, kitten, or certain seabirds.
"A faint mew from behind the garden shed alerted us to the presence of the stray kitten."
An enclosure or cage for trained hawks, especially while they are molting, or a hiding place of confinement.
"The falconer carefully placed the bird inside the wooden mew for the duration of the molting season."
A medium-sized gull of the family Laridae, especially the common gull (Larus canus) native to coastal and inland waters across Eurasia and northwestern North America, characterized by a pale gray mantle and greenish-yellow bill.
"A solitary mew circled above the rocky estuary before landing on the wooden pier."
• verb
To make a soft, high-pitched crying sound (especially of a cat, kitten, or gull).
"The hungry kittens began to mew softly as soon as they heard the kitchen door open."
To shut up or confine in an enclosure or cage (often followed by 'up').
"During the winter storm, the residents were mewed up inside their small cottages for several days."
To shed or molt feathers or antlers (historically of a hawk or stag).
"The young hawk began to mew its primary feathers at the end of the summer."
• Rhymes for mew
Word Origin & Etymology
The word derives from three distinct Middle English roots: an imitative origin for the feline vocalization, Old English 'maew' for the seagull, and Old French 'mue' (from Latin 'mutare', meaning to change or molt) for the hawk enclosure, which later gave rise to the plural 'mews' for stable-lined streets.