chewverb [ I or T ]
uk/tʃuː/us/tʃuː/B2 to crush food into smaller, softer pieces with the teeth so that it can be swallowed:
This meat is difficult to chew.
You don't chew your food enough - that's why you get indigestion.
B2 to bite something with your teeth, usually in order to taste its flavour:
Would you like some gum to chew?
She gave the children some sweets to chew (on) during the long car journey.
She sat in the dentist's waiting room, nervously chewing (at) (= biting) her nails.
More examples
- She chewed each delicious mouthful as slowly as she could, prolonging the pleasure.
- Make sure you chew your food properly.
- The dog was chewing happily on the bone.
- His dog has chewed my slippers.
- She's always chewing gum.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Biting, chewing & swallowing
- bite
- champ
- chomp
- crunch
- dunk
- gnaw
- lick
- masticate
- mastication
- munch
- nibble
- peck
- peck at sth
- rumination
- suck
Idiom(s)
chew the fat
Phrasal verb(s)
chew sb out
chew sth over
chew sth up
chewnoun [ C ]
uk/tʃuː/us/tʃuː/an act of chewing something
a piece of hard food that can be given to an animal to chew:
dog chews
mainly UK a hard sweet that gets softer the more you chew it
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Biting, chewing & swallowing
- bite
- champ
- chomp
- crunch
- dunk
- gnaw
- lick
- masticate
- mastication
- munch
- nibble
- peck
- peck at sth
- rumination
- suck
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Sweets