pew

«pew» in Mova's school dictionary: A long wooden bench with a back, where people sit in a… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

part of speech

noun (a pew, pews); interjection (pew, also pee-yew, informal)

meaning for a pupil

1) (church) A long wooden bench with a back, where people sit in a church. tree →

2) (informal, UK) A seat: «Take a pew» means «sit down». tree →

3) (interjection, informal) A sound people make about a bad smell: «Pew! What stinks?» tree →

sense in the lessons

In church life families sit in the pews; the front pews are for the wedding or funeral family. In British everyday speech «take a pew» is a friendly way to say «have a seat». Children say «pew!» (or «pee-yew») at a smell. Phrases: «take a pew», «the front pew», «church pews».

examples

• We sat in the front pew at the wedding. tree →
• The old church pews are hard to sit on. tree →
• «Come in and take a pew,» said Grandad. tree →
• Hymn books are kept in a shelf on the back of each pew. tree →
• «Pew! Who left their socks here?» tree →
• The family filled three pews at the christening. tree →
• The clear sunshine streamed so warmly through the window into the pew where Karen sat! tree →

note

Countable. Rhymes with «few». «Take a pew» is UK informal. The smell word is also spelled «phew» or «pee-yew» (US); «phew» more often means relief («Phew, we made it!»).

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «pew» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.