hew

hew (something) out of (something)

To carve or cut a particular shape or object out of a piece of wood. Yeah, I hewed this bottle opener out of a piece of wood I had lying around the shop. I bet we could hew something cool out of this old tree stump. Wow Grandpa, I can't believe you hewed this jewelry box out of some wood you just had laying around.

See also: hew, of, out

hew down

To cut something down, typically a tree. A noun or pronoun can be used between "hew" and "down." If we're going to build houses here, then we need to hew down a lot of these trees. I can't believe the city hewed down that little park just to build one more store we don't need. We had to hew down that tree—it was liable to fall on the house the next time a storm came through!

See also: down, hew

hew out

To carve or cut a particular shape or object out of a piece of wood. A noun or pronoun can be used between "hew" and "out." I'm going to hew out a bottle opener—what are you making? I bet we could hew something cool out of this old tree stump. Wow Grandpa, I can't believe you hewed this jewelry box out of some wood you just had laying around.

See also: hew, out

hew to (something)

To adhere to a particular idea or rule. The teacher will deduct points if you don't hew to the guidelines for the project. You can't hew to "work hard, play hard" forever—at some point, you have to grow up and stop partying so much Please be advised that your construction project needs to hew to all building codes.

See also: hew, to

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

hew something down

to fell something wooden, usually a tree. We will have to hew most of this forest down. They hewed down the tree.

See also: down, hew

hew something out of something

 and hew something out

to carve the shape of something out of something wooden. Dan hewed each of the posts out of a tree trunk. He hewed out a number of posts.

See also: hew, of, out

hew to something

to conform to a rule or principle. I wish you would hew to the rules a little better. Sarah refuses to hew to the company policies.

See also: hew, to

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

hew to

v.

To conform to some law, set of beliefs, or course of action: I hope our children will hew to the traditions of our ancestors.

See also: hew, to

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Phrasal Verbs. Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.