When I left the train station, I saw a man.
Source: tatoeba (1555)
Saw
/sɑ/
Synonyms for "saw" (188 found)
Ranked by relevance and common usage.
Closest matches (38)
Strong matches (56)
coping sawcordwood sawcrenationcrenelationcrenulationcrestcrosscut sawcurrent sayingcutcut awaycut in twocut offdeckle edgedenticulationdentildentil banddiamond sawdichotomizedictatedictum
Verb(1 words)
Adjective(1 words)
Related words (94)
keyhole sawlancemaximmeat sawmill sawmoralmotmottonotchingoraclepanel sawparephrasepit sawpithy sayingplay violinportable sawpower sawpreceptprescript
Show 51 more words
proverbproverbial sayingproverbsprunepruning sawrendrickrackripsawriverock sawsaw knifesaw machinesaw teethsayingscallopscissorscrapescribe sawscroll sawsentencesententious expressionserrationseverslashsliceslitslokasnipsplitsplitsawstock sayingsundersutratable sawteachingteartexttwo-handed sawvandyke edgeversevertical sawwhipsawwhittlewire sawwisdomwisdom literaturewise sayingwitticismwood sawwordwords of wisdom
Noun(22 words)
Verb(1 words)
Choosing the right synonym
- Closest matches in this entry: adage, proverb, adage, amputate, ana.
- Sentence evidence is available for saw, so synonym choice can be checked against real usage rather than a flat word list.
- Ranking signals come from wordnet, opengloss, moby, derived_reverse, and related lexical sources.
Synonym selection checklist
- Match the part of speech before comparing meanings.
- Check whether the synonym changes intensity, formality, or emotional tone.
- Read the replacement inside the full sentence, not just beside "saw".
- Prefer the clearest word over the most unusual word when writing for speed or comprehension.
When not to replace "saw"
Keep "saw" when the sentence already sounds natural, when a synonym would add unintended emphasis, or when readers need the most familiar wording. A synonym should clarify or sharpen the message, not simply make the sentence look more varied.
If two options seem close, choose the one that best matches the audience and purpose of the sentence.
Replacement workflow
1. Preserve meaning
Choose a synonym only if it keeps the core idea of "saw" intact in the sentence you are editing.
2. Tune tone
Check whether the replacement sounds more formal, casual, emotional, technical, or forceful than the original word.
3. Re-read context
Read the full sentence after the swap. Keep the synonym only when the sentence becomes clearer or more precise.
Review note: Synonym lists are ranked with lexical data and reviewed for practical writing value. Use the comparison notes, sentence evidence, and source labels together; a high-ranking synonym can still be wrong when the audience, register, or grammar changes.
Final fit check
After choosing a replacement for "saw", read the sentence once for meaning and once for rhythm. The best synonym should feel natural in the full sentence, not only accurate in a word list.
If the synonym makes the sentence slower, vaguer, or more dramatic than intended, keep "saw" or choose a simpler alternative from the closest-match group.
Related word relations
OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.
More general
10 entriesMore specific
15 entriesCollocations
12 entriescircular sawcrosscut sawhand sawsaw bladesaw teethsee datasee evidencesee figuresee patternsee resultssee trendwoodworking saw
Inflections
4 entriesDerivations
8 entriesTranslations
166 translations across 135 languages.
Aghwan
1 entries- 𐕀𐔴𐕀𐔴𐕙 noun (tool)
Albanian
1 entries- sharrë noun (tool)
Ancient Greek
1 entries- πρίων noun (tool)
Arabic
2 entries- منشار noun (tool)
- مِنْشَار noun (tool)
Aramaic
1 entries- ܡܣܪܐ noun (tool)
Armenian
1 entries- սղոց noun (tool)
Aromanian
1 entries- sharã noun (tool)
Assamese
1 entries- কৰত noun (tool)
Asturian
1 entries- sierra noun (tool)
Azerbaijani
1 entries- mişar noun (tool)
Baluchi
1 entries- ہرگ noun (tool)
Basque
1 entries- zerra noun (tool)
Belarusian
1 entries- піла́ noun (tool)
Bengali
1 entries- করাত noun (tool)
Bulgarian
1 entries- трио́н noun (tool)
Burmese
1 entries- လွှ noun (tool)
Catalan
1 entries- serra noun (tool)
Central Kurdish
3 entries- ئەڕە noun (tool)
- مِشار noun (tool)
- ھەڕە noun (tool)
Chechen
1 entries- херх noun (tool)
Cherokee
1 entries- ᎦᏅᏙᎩ noun (tool)
Cheyenne
1 entries- é'ėxovahtȯtse noun (tool)
Chinese Cantonese
1 entries- 鋸 /锯 noun (tool)
Chinese Mandarin
2 entries- 鋸 /锯 noun (tool)
- 鋸子 /锯子 noun (tool)
Chuvash
1 entries- пӑчки noun (tool)
Coptic
1 entries- ⲃⲁϣⲟⲩⲣ noun (tool)
Czech
1 entries- pila noun (tool)
Danish
1 entries- sav noun (tool)
Daur
1 entries- kiree noun (tool)
Dolgan
1 entries- эрбии noun (tool)
Dongxiang
1 entries- qirou noun (tool)
Dutch
1 entries- zaag noun (tool)
East Yugur
1 entries- küree noun (tool)
Esperanto
1 entries- segilo noun (tool)
Estonian
1 entries- saag noun (tool)
Evenki
1 entries- хувун noun (tool)
Faroese
1 entries- sag noun (tool)
Finnish
1 entries- saha noun (tool)
French
1 entries- scie noun (tool)
Friulian
1 entries- see noun (tool)
Galician
1 entries- serra noun (tool)
Georgian
1 entries- ხერხი noun (tool)
German
1 entries- Säge noun (tool)
Greek
1 entries- πριόνι noun (tool)
Greenlandic
1 entries- pilattuut noun (tool)
Gujarati
1 entries- કરવત noun (tool)
Hausa
1 entries- zarto noun (tool)
Hebrew
1 entries- מַשׂוֹר noun (tool)
Higaonon
1 entries- gabas noun (tool)
Hiligaynon
1 entries- lagari noun (tool)
Hindi
1 entries- आरा noun (tool)
Hungarian
1 entries- fűrész noun (tool)
Hunsrik
1 entries- Seh noun (tool)
Icelandic
1 entries- sög noun (tool)
Ida'an
1 entries- geragadi noun (tool)
Indonesian
1 entries- gergaji noun (tool)
Ingrian
1 entries- saha noun (tool)
Ingush
1 entries- херх noun (tool)
Irish
2 entries- sábh noun (tool)
- toireasc noun (tool)
Italian
1 entries- sega noun (tool)
Japanese
1 entries- 鋸 noun (tool)
Javanese
1 entries- graji noun (tool)
Kalmyk
1 entries- көрә noun (tool)
Kazakh
1 entries- ара noun (tool)
Khmer
1 entries- រណារ noun (tool)
Korean
1 entries- 톱 noun (tool)
Kyrgyz
1 entries- араа noun (tool)
Lao
1 entries- ເລື່ອຍ noun (tool)
Latin
1 entries- serra noun (tool)
Latvian
1 entries- zāģis noun (tool)
Ligurian
1 entries- særa noun (tool)
Lithuanian
1 entries- pjūklas noun (tool)
Lombard
1 entries- résega noun (tool)
Lower Sorbian
1 entries- piła noun (tool)
Luxembourgish
1 entries- See noun (tool)
Macedonian
1 entries- пи́ла noun (tool)
Maguindanao
1 entries- garugadi noun (tool)
Malay
1 entries- gergaji noun (tool)
Maltese
3 entries- munxar noun (tool)
- sega noun (tool)
- serrieq noun (tool)
Manchu
1 entries- ᡶᡠᡶᡠᠨ noun (tool)
Mansaka
1 entries- lagari noun (tool)
Maranao
1 entries- gabas noun (tool)
Minangkabau
1 entries- garagaji noun (tool)
Mingrelian
1 entries- ხორხი noun (tool)
Mongolian
2 entries- хөрөө noun (tool)
- ᠬᠢᠷᠦᠭᠡ noun (tool)
Māori
1 entries- kani noun (tool)
Nanai
1 entries- попон noun (tool)
Navajo
2 entries- bee achʼiishí noun (tool)
- tsin bee nehechʼiishí noun (tool)
Ngazidja Comorian
1 entries- msimanyo noun (tool)
Nivkh
1 entries- п’уф noun (tool)
Northern Kurdish
2 entries- birrek noun (tool)
- mişar noun (tool)
Norwegian Bokmål
1 entries- sag noun (tool)
Norwegian Nynorsk
1 entries- sag noun (tool)
Occitan
3 entries- ressèga noun (tool)
- rèssa noun (tool)
- sèrra noun (tool)
Ojibwe
1 entries- giishkiboojigan noun (tool)
Ottoman Turkish
3 entries- اره noun (tool)
- بچقی noun (tool)
- منشار noun (tool)
Persian
2 entries- اره noun (tool)
- منشار noun (tool)
Piedmontese
1 entries- ressia noun (tool)
Polish
2 entries- piła noun (tool)
- piłka noun (tool)
Portuguese
2 entries- serra noun (tool)
- serrote noun (tool)
Rohingya
1 entries- horot noun (tool)
Romagnol
1 entries- sega noun (tool)
Romanian
1 entries- ferăstrău noun (tool)
Romansch
2 entries- resgia noun (tool)
- rezgia noun (tool)
Russian
1 entries- пила́ noun (tool)
Serbo-Croatian
4 entries- pila noun (tool)
- testera noun (tool)
- žaga noun (tool)
- жага noun (tool)
Sicilian
1 entries- serra noun (tool)
Slovak
1 entries- píla noun (tool)
Slovene
1 entries- žaga noun (tool)
Southern Altai
2 entries- бычкы noun (tool)
- кирее noun (tool)
Southern Kurdish
2 entries- مِشار noun (tool)
- ھەڕە noun (tool)
Spanish
1 entries- sierra noun (tool)
Swahili
1 entries- msumeno noun (tool)
Swedish
1 entries- såg noun (tool)
Tagalog
1 entries- lagari noun (tool)
Tajik
2 entries- арра noun (tool)
- миншор noun (tool)
Tamil
1 entries- ரம்பம் noun (tool)
Tarantino
1 entries- seghe noun (tool)
Tatar
1 entries- пычкы noun (tool)
Telugu
1 entries- రంపము noun (tool)
Thai
1 entries- เลื่อย noun (tool)
Tibetan
1 entries- སོག་ལེ noun (tool)
Turkish
2 entries- bıçkı noun (tool)
- testere noun (tool)
Turkmen
1 entries- byçgy noun (tool)
Ukrainian
2 entries- пи́лка noun (tool)
- пила́ noun (tool)
Urdu
1 entries- آرا noun (tool)
Uyghur
1 entries- ھەرە noun (tool)
Uzbek
1 entries- arra noun (tool)
Venetan
2 entries- sega noun (tool)
- siega noun (tool)
Vietnamese
2 entries- cái cưa noun (tool)
- cưa noun (tool)
Walloon
2 entries- soye noun (tool)
- soyete noun (tool)
Welsh
1 entries- llif noun (tool)
West-Frisian
1 entries- seage noun (tool)
Western Bukidnon Manobo
1 entries- gavas noun (tool)
Yakut
1 entries- эрбии noun (tool)
Yiddish
1 entries- זעג noun (tool)
Sample sentences
26 total sentences available.
I never saw a red fridge.
Source: tatoeba (1691)
I saw you with a tall boy.
Source: tatoeba (17766)
By chance we saw him as he came out of the shop.
Source: tatoeba (18128)
Showing 4 of 26 available sentences.
Common questions
What are the closest synonyms for "saw"?
Closest matches include adage, proverb, adage, amputate, ana.
How should I check whether a synonym fits "saw"?
Compare the replacement against real sentence context. This entry includes sample sentences so you can check tone, grammar, and meaning before swapping words.