# chew

> English word · Verb · IPA /tʃuː/ · frequency rank #11,850

## Definitions
1. To crush with the teeth by repeated closing and opening of the jaws; done to food to soften it and break it down by the action of saliva before it is swallowed.
2. To grind, tear, or otherwise degrade or demolish something with teeth or as with teeth.
3. To think about something; to ponder; to chew over.

## Etymology
From Middle English chewen, from Old English ċēowan, from Proto-West Germanic *keuwan, from Proto-Germanic *kewwaną, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵyewh₁-. Cognate with West Frisian kôgje, Low German käwwen, Dutch kauwen, German kauen; also Latin gingīva (“gums”), Tocharian B śuwaṃ (“to eat”), Polish żuć (“to chew”), Persian جویدن (javidan), Pashto ژول (žovạl, “to bite, gnaw”).

## Easily confused with
- **CW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-cw)
- **cow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-cow)
- **chi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-chi)
- **cue** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-cue)
- **chu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-chu)
- **cho** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-cho)
- **Coe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-coe)
- **CHP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-chp)
- **CME** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-cme)
- **CTE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-cte)
- **CHR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-chr)
- **CSE** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-cse)
- **crew** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-crew)
- **chip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-chip)
- **chin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-chin)
- **crow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-crow)
- **chop** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-chop)
- **chic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-chic)
- **claw** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-claw)
- **cues** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/chew-vs-cues)

## Common misspellings (6)
`cchew`, `cehw`, `cheww`, `chhew`, `chwe`, `hcew`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/chew