hew

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

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🗓️ 4 April 2025

⏱️ 2 minutes

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Summary

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for April 4, 2025 is:

hew • \HYOO\ • verb

Hew is commonly used with to to mean "to conform to or adhere to (something)." Hew on its own has several meanings having to do with cutting or shaping with a sharp tool, such as an ax. Both hewed and hewn are past participles of hew.

// The senator has always hewed closely to the party line.

// The explorers hewed logs for building cabins.

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Examples:

"The play hewed closely to the original script, with a few splashes of local color." — Chelsea Edgar, The New Yorker, 31 Jan. 2025

Did you know?

Without context, the contrasting meanings of hew may seem arbitrary. What does shaping something with an ax have to do with conforming or adhering to something? If you're not a lumberjack, that's okay, we'll explain. The connection lies in the woodworking phrase "hew to the line," where line refers to the mark along the length of a log indicating where to chop in order to shape a beam. "Hewing to the line," literally, is cutting along the mark—adhering to it—until the side of the log is squared. In the 1800s, "hew to the line" was used figuratively as half of the idiom "hew to the line, let the chips fall where they may," to advise someone to stay true to a course of action, whatever the consequences may be. Over time the latter half of the phrase has been, well, hewn off.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's the Word of the Day podcast for April 4th.
0:11.5	Today's word is Hugh, spelled H-E-W.
0:14.8	Hugh is a verb.
0:15.7	It's most commonly used with to, to mean to conform to or adhere to something. Hugh on its own has several meanings
0:23.3	having to do with cutting or shaping with a sharp tool, such as an axe. Both hewed and
0:29.4	hewn are past participles of the verb hue. Here's the word used in a sentence from the New Yorker
0:35.1	by Chelsea Edgar. The play hued closely to the
0:39.2	original script with a few splashes of local color. Without context, the contrasting meanings of the
0:45.8	word hue may seem arbitrary. What does shaping something with an axe have to do with conforming
0:52.1	or adhering to something? If you're not a lumberjack, that's okay.
0:56.0	We'll explain.
0:58.0	The connection lies in the woodworking phrase,
1:00.0	hue to the line,
1:02.0	where line refers to the mark along the length of a log,
1:06.0	indicating where to chop in order to shape a beam.
1:10.0	Hewing to the line literally is cutting along the mark,
1:13.7	adhering to it until the side of the log is squared. In the 1800s, hue to the line was used
1:20.5	figuratively as half of the idiom, hue to the line let the chips fall where they may, to advise someone
1:27.2	to stay true to a course of
1:28.8	action, whatever the consequences may be. Over time, the latter half of the phrase has been
1:34.1	hewn off. With your word of the day, I'm Peter Sokolowski.
1:42.0	Visit Miriamwebster.com today for definitions, wordplay, and trending word lookups.
	...

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