haw
part of speech
noun (a haw, haws); verb (haw — in «hum and haw»); interjection (haw)
meaning for a pupil
1) A haw is the small red berry of the hawthorn tree. tree →
2) (verb) To hum and haw (US: hem and haw) means to take a long time to decide, making noises like «um» and «er». tree →
3) (interjection) «Haw» is the sound of a loud laugh, often written «haw haw». tree →
4) (farming, USA) «Haw!» is a call to a horse or ox to turn left (and «gee» means turn right). tree →
5) The braying sound a donkey makes is also "haw", often written "hee-haw". tree →
sense in the lessons
In nature walks and science lessons, hawthorn haws are winter food for birds such as blackbirds and thrushes. In everyday life «humming and hawing» describes someone who can't decide. In comics, «haw haw» is a laugh. Phrases: «hum and haw», «hem and haw».
examples
- Birds were eating the red haws on the hawthorn. tree →
- The haws ripen in autumn. tree →
- Stop humming and hawing and choose a flavour! tree →
- He hemmed and hawed before answering. tree →
- «Haw haw!» laughed the pirate. tree →
- The farmer shouted «Haw!» and the horse turned left. tree →
- "Hee-haw, hee-haw!" roared the ass; "bow-wow!" barked the dog; "meaw-meaw!" cried the cat; "cock-a-doodle-doo!" crowed the cock. tree →
note
Countable: a haw, haws. In many UK accents haw sounds like «hoar» (as in hoar frost). «Hum and haw» is British; «hem and haw» is American. Haws are not good to eat raw for people; leave them for birds, and the seeds can be harmful.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «haw» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.