mew
/ˈmjuː/noun, verb, interjection
mew is spelled M-E-W: 3 letters and one syllable. It appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, mew means “A cage for hawks, especially while moulting” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of mew is mews.
How many letters and syllables are in mew?
| Letters | 3: M-E-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 |
| In writing | 1.0 times per million words; the 28,918th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Sounds like | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is mew?
Mew appears 1.0 times per million words in written English, the 28,918th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce mew?
- /ˈmjuː/
- [ˈmjʊu̯]
Mew has one syllable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-mew.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with mew
Sounds like: mu (Wiktionary's homophone list; some hold only in some accents).
Also written: mow.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with mew?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as mew.
Spelled with the same letters in another order: wem.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of mew
- mews plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- mewing participle, present
- mewed participle, past
- mue
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does mew mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
obsoleteA prison, or other place of confinement.
- 2
obsoleteA hiding place; a secret store or den.
- 3
obsoleteA breeding-cage for birds.
- 4
A cage for hawks, especially while moulting.
- 5
A building or set of buildings where moulting birds are kept.
- 6
The crying sound of a cat; a meow, especially of a kitten.
- 7
The crying sound of a gull or buzzard.
- 8
obsoleteAn exclamation of disapproval; a boo.
- 9
archaicA gull, seagull.
verb
- 1
archaicTo shut away, confine, lock up.
- 2
To moult.
The hawk mewed his feathers.
- 3
obsoleteTo cause to moult.
- 4
obsoleteTo shed antlers.
- 5
To meow.
- 6
To make its cry.
- 7
slangTo flatten one's tongue against the roof of the mouth, with the aim of improving jaw and facial structure.
interjection
- 1
A cat's (especially a kitten's) cry.
- 2
A gull's or buzzard's cry.
- 3
archaicAn exclamation of disapproval; boo.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Mew in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense gull or seagull:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does mew come from?
From Middle English mewe, mue, mwe, from Anglo-Norman mue, muwe, and Middle French mue (“shedding feathers; cage for moulting birds; prison”), from muer (“to moult”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).