mew
/mju:/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Noun:
- A gull, especially the common gull: Refers to a type of seabird, specifically the common gull (Larus canus) found across Eurasia and northeastern North America.
- The characteristic cry of a cat: The high-pitched sound made by a cat; a meow.
- A cage or enclosure for hawks: A confined space, often a cage, where hawks are kept, especially while molting.
Verb:
- To make the sound of a gull or a cat: To utter a high-pitched, plaintive cry, similar to that of a seagull or a cat.
- To confine or shut away: To enclose or imprison, especially in a small or secret place.
Usage Examples
Noun (bird):
- A lone mew circled above the cliffs, searching for fish.
- We spotted several mews on the beach.
Noun (sound):
- The kitten let out a tiny, pitiful mew.
Verb (to make sound):
- The lost cat mewed at the back door.
- Seagulls mewed overhead as the boat left the harbor.
Verb (to confine):
- The old tales speak of princesses mewed up in towers. (This usage is now rare or literary.)
Advanced Usage
- "to mew up" (phrasal verb): To confine or shut someone away.
- The writer mewed himself up in his cabin to finish his novel.
Variants and Related Words
- Mewing (n/adj): The act or sound of crying like a cat or gull. ()
- Sea mew (n): An older or poetic term for a seagull.
Synonyms
- For the sound (noun/verb): Meow, miaow, cry.
- For the bird (noun): Gull, seagull.
- For confining (verb): Confine, coop up, imprison, shut away.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Mew up: To enclose or imprison.
- They were mewed up in the castle during the siege.
Related Idioms
Noun
- the common gull of Eurasia and northeastern North America
- the sound made by a cat (or any sound resembling this)
Verb
- utter a high-pitched cry, as of seagulls
- cry like a cat
- the cat meowed