What does "maw" mean?
The stomach, especially of an animal.
Maw
/mɔ/ name, noun, slang
name, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The stomach, especially of an animal.
- Grammar: maw is listed as name, noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: abdomen, abomasum, abyss, bay window.
- Usage evidence: The black hole pulls the hapless star into its maw.
How to use "maw"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "maw" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "maw" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "maw" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "maw" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "maw" is acting as name, noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abdomen" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "maw", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The stomach, especially of an animal. archaic, countable, uncountable
"So Death shall be deceav'd his glut, and with us two / Be forc'd to satisfie his Rav'nous Maw."
- 2 Mother. colloquial, dialectal
- 3 A gull.
- 4 Initialism of model, actress, whatever: a young woman without much talent who attains celebrity through physical attractiveness. abbreviation, alt-of, derogatory, informal, initialism
"Tamara was one of the original wild-child tribe - up to now, famous mainly for being famous. She has done a quantity of high-profile dabbling in modelling, acting, television and journalism (file under MAW - Model, Actress, Whatever - or WAIF - Why Am I Famous?)"
- 5 informal terms for the mouth wordnet
Show 5 more definitions
- 6 The upper digestive tract (where food enters the body), especially the mouth and jaws of a fearsome and ravenous creature; craw. countable, uncountable
"To save poor lambkins from the eagle's maw"
- 7 The mouth. countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable
"Shut your maw!"
- 8 Any large, insatiable or perilous opening. countable, uncountable
"Adam requires a touch of feminine lace and a whisper of diaphanous silk, not a direct vision of the gaping maw of the human vulva."
- 9 Appetite; inclination. obsolete, uncountable
"Unless you had more maw to do me good."
- 10 The swim bladder of a fish, especially when used as food in Chinese cuisine. countable, uncountable
"fish maw: The buoyancy bladder of a fish similar in appearance to the mammalian lung. The maw of the conger pike is used in Chinese cooking and is usually sold in dried form which needs reconstituting for about 3 hours and treating with[…]"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Example
"The black hole pulls the hapless star into its maw."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "maw"?
Common synonyms include: abdomen, abomasum, abyss, bay window, bazoo, beerbelly.
How do you use "maw" in a sentence?
The black hole pulls the hapless star into its maw.
How do you pronounce "maw"?
Pronounced /mɔ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English mawe, maghe, maȝe, from Old English maga (“stomach; maw”), from Proto-West Germanic *magō, from Proto-Germanic *magô (“belly; stomach”), from Proto-Indo-European *mak-, *maks- (“bag, bellows, belly”). Cognates Cognate with West Frisian mage, Dutch maag (“stomach; belly”), German Low German Maag, German Magen (“stomach”), Danish mave, Norwegian mage (“stomach”), Swedish mage (“stomach; belly”), and also with Welsh megin (“bellows”), archaic Russian мошна́ (mošná, “pocket, bag”), Lithuanian mãkas (“purse”), Finnish maha (“stomach”), Estonian magu (“stomach”).
Etymology 2
By shortening of mother
Etymology 3
See mew (“a gull”), Norwegian måke (“a gull”)
Etymology 4
* As an English surname, from an obsolete derivative of Proto-Germanic *makô (“mate, relative”), comparable to modern match. * Also as an English surname, from archaic mew (“seagull”); compare the surname Mew.