- [intransitive, transitive]
to bite food into small pieces in your mouth with your teeth to make it easier to swallow 咀嚼；嚼碎 - chew (at/on/through something)
After the operation you may find it difficult to chew and swallow. 手术后你咀嚼和吞咽可能会感到困难。 🔊🔊 - chew something (up)
teeth designed for chewing meat 用于咀嚼肉食的牙齿 He is always chewing gum. 他总是在嚼口香糖。 🔊🔊
Extra ExamplesThe baby chewed on a piece of bread. 宝宝嚼着一块面包。 Chew your food up well before you swallow it. 把食物细嚼后再咽下。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- thoroughly
- well
- slowly
- …
- at
- on
- chew (at/on/through something)
- [intransitive, transitive]
to bite something continuously, for example because you are nervous or to taste it （因为紧张等）咬住，不停地啃；（为尝味道）不停地咀嚼 - chew on/at something
Rosa chewed on her lip and stared at the floor. 罗莎咬着嘴唇，眼睛盯着地板。 🔊🔊 The dog was chewing on a bone. 那只狗在一个劲儿地啃骨头。 🔊🔊 She was chewing at her lower lip. 她咬着下嘴唇。 - chew something
to chew your nails 啃指甲
Homophones chews | choosechews choose🔊/tʃuːz/🔊/tʃuːz/- chews verb (third person of chew)
She chews her lip thoughtfully before replying. 她在回答之前，仔细地咀嚼着嘴唇。
- choose verb
The magazine will choose six young designers. 该杂志将选出六位年轻设计师。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb- thoroughly
- well
- slowly
- …
- at
- on
- chew on/at something
Word OriginOld English cēowan, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch kauwen and German kauen.
Idioms
bite off more than you can chew
to try to do too much, or something that is too difficult 想一口吃成胖子；不自量力
chew the fat
- (informal)
to have a long friendly talk with somebody about something （长时间）闲聊，闲扯 Randall stayed chewing the fat for a while. 兰德尔坚持咀嚼脂肪了一段时间。 They met up once a year to chew the fat about the old days. 他们每年聚会一次，咀嚼过去的脂肪。