strew
/stɹu/verb
strew is spelled S-T-R-E-W: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 146,811th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, strew means “To distribute objects or pieces of something over an area, especially in a random manner” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in strew?
| Letters | 5: S-T-R-E-W |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 23 million words; the 146,811th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; 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 strew?
Strew appears about once in every 23 million words in written English, the 146,811th 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 strew?
- UK /stɹuː/
- US /stɹu/
Strew has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-strew.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with strew?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as strew from its last stressed vowel (/u/):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: wrest, trews.
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 strew
- strews present, singular, he/she/it
- strewing participle, present
- strewed past, participle
- strewn participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does strew mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
datedTo distribute objects or pieces of something over an area, especially in a random manner.
to strew sand over a floor
- 2
archaicTo cover, or lie upon, by having been scattered.
Leaves strewed the ground.
- 3
archaicTo spread abroad; to disseminate.
- 4
To populate with at random points; to cause to appear randomly distributed throughout.
error-strewn
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Strew in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to distribute objects or pieces of something:
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 strew come from?
From Middle English strewen, strawen, streowen, from Old English strewian, strēawian, strēowian (“to strew, scatter”), from Proto-West Germanic *strauwjan, from Proto-Germanic *strawjaną (“to strew”), from Proto-Indo-European *strew- (“to spread, scatter”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).