jaw

/dʒɔ/

/dʒɔ/

Other forms: jaws; jawing; jawed

Your jaw is the bottom, hinged part of your skull that holds your teeth. When you have a cavity, it can make your whole jaw hurt.

In humans, our jaw is the bony part of the head that contains our mouth and teeth. All animals with spines have jaws. Besides this anatomical meaning, you can use jaw as a verb to mean "chat." You might love to get together with your friends and jaw about unimportant things. You can also say "My jaw dropped" to mean "I was shocked or amazed." Jaw comes from the Old French joue, which means "cheek or jaw."

Definitions of jaw
  1. noun
    the part of the skull of a vertebrate that frames the mouth and holds the teeth
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    types:
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    jawbone, jowl, lower jaw, lower jawbone, mandible, mandibula, mandibular bone, submaxilla
    the jaw in vertebrates that is hinged to open the mouth
    maxilla, maxillary, upper jaw, upper jawbone
    the jaw in vertebrates that is fused to the cranium
    chop
    a jaw
    lantern jaw
    a long thin lower jaw
    type of:
    bone, os
    rigid connective tissue that makes up the skeleton of vertebrates
  2. noun
    the bones of the skull that frame the mouth and serve to open it; the bones that hold the teeth
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    type of:
    feature, lineament
    the characteristic parts of a person's face: eyes and nose and mouth and chin
  3. verb
    talk socially without exchanging too much information
    synonyms: chaffer, chat, chatter, chew the fat, chit-chat, chitchat, claver, confab, confabulate, gossip, natter, shoot the breeze, visit
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    types:
    jawbone, schmoose, schmooze, shmoose, shmooze
    talk idly or casually and in a friendly way
    type of:
    converse, discourse
    carry on a conversation
  4. verb
    talk incessantly and tiresomely
    synonyms: rattle on, yack, yack away, yap away
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    type of:
    mouth, speak, talk, utter, verbalise, verbalize
    express in speech
  5. verb
    chew (food); to bite and grind with the teeth
    “He jawed his bubble gum”
    synonyms: chew, manducate, masticate
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    types:
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    champ, chomp
    chew noisily
    champ
    chafe at the bit, like horses
    gum, mumble
    grind with the gums; chew without teeth and with great difficulty
    chaw
    chew without swallowing
    crunch, munch
    chew noisily
    gnaw
    bite or chew on with the teeth
    type of:
    grate, grind
    make a grating or grinding sound by rubbing together
  6. verb
    censure severely or angrily
    synonyms: bawl out, berate, call down, call on the carpet, chew out, chew up, chide, dress down, have words, lambast, lambaste, lecture, rag, rebuke, remonstrate, reprimand, reproof, scathe, scold, take to task, trounce, vituperate
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    types:
    castigate, chasten, chastise, correct, objurgate
    censure severely
    brush down, tell off
    reprimand
    flame
    criticize harshly, usually via an electronic medium
    type of:
    criticise, criticize, knock, pick apart
    find fault with; express criticism of; point out real or perceived flaws
  7. noun
    holding device consisting of one or both of the opposing parts of a tool that close to hold an object
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    type of:
    holding device
    a device for holding something
Pronunciation
US

/dʒɔ/
UK

/dʒɔ/
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DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘jaw'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback
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