1
as in to mow
to bring down by cutting laboriously hewed trees to build their rude log cabins

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2
as in to adhere
to hold to something firmly as if by adhesion decided to hew to the original plan rather than change everything

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of hew One Piece studio Toei Animation also prefers to hew close to the manga. Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 19 Apr. 2025 More likely to be affected are cheaper generic drugs, whose prices hew more closely to production costs. Rebecca Robbins, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2025 In 2018, Villaraigosa ran a campaign that hewed toward the middle, focusing on equal access to education, fiscal restraint and his strong record as mayor on supporting law enforcement and protecting the environment. Mackenzie Mays, Los Angeles Times, 27 Nov. 2024 This version hews a little closer to the source and also has the coldest, most clinical take so far, courtesy of Robert Elswit’s gorgeous black-and-white cinematography and Steven Zaillian’s ace direction. Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hew
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hew
Verb
  • Always mow slopes and hills from side to side (and never mow when the grass is wet).
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 17 May 2025
  • Next door, the neighbors had just mowed their lawn early that morning.
    Elizabeth Weise, USA Today, 16 May 2025
Verb
  • Some agencies adhere closely to the reviewers’ numeric scores – like a grade – when making these decisions.
    Kelly S. Mix, The Conversation, 22 May 2025
  • In a statement to the Union-Tribune, Playwrights Project Executive Director Cecelia Kouma said that when her organization applied for a grant last year, it was carefully written to adhere with the NEA’s funding priorities at the time.
    Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 May 2025
Verb
  • Over roughly a decade, approximately 8,000 giant sequoias — some aged over 2,000 years — were felled using cross-cut saws, axes, steam donkeys and elaborate flume systems that transported logs to distant mills.
    Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 24 May 2025
  • Beech and oak logs felled in the Morvan Forest were fastened together and floated along the Yonne, then up the Seine to fuel the fires of the growing population of Paris.
    Rachel Howard, Travel + Leisure, 13 May 2025
Verb
  • An animated Wheel Of Time, for instance, could stick closer to the source material while costing a fraction of what a live-action series costs.
    Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 23 May 2025
  • Philips sticked away a backhand attempt by Minnesota’s Brooke McQuigge just 35 seconds into overtime, with the Frost forward getting loose in front of the Ottawa net.
    Jess Myers, Twin Cities, 23 May 2025
Verb
  • Fence bears out With snow still clinging to mountainsides and bears still asleep, some 30 people have shown up in a converted Fernie railway station to discuss grizzly bear coexistence.
    Lesley Evans Ogden, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 May 2025
  • Listen to this article The Queens single mom clinging to life after being savagely beaten and robbed of her e-bike on Randalls Island was left unconscious on the ground for nearly six hours before she was discovered by a passerby the next morning, the Daily News has learned.
    Kerry Burke, New York Daily News, 22 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Hew.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hew. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.

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