Word
pew
US/ˈpju/
UK/pjˈuː/
Definitions
01church bench
B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Religion
n. a long wooden seat in a church where many people sit together.
n. a long, typically wooden bench with a back, fixed in rows in a church to seat the congregation.
“The old church had uncomfortable wooden pews that made a lot of noise.”
“The congregation sat silently in the polished oak pews, waiting for the wedding ceremony to begin.”
02a seat
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Humorous · Informal · British English
n. a funny or old-fashioned word for a chair or a place to sit.
n. a seat or chair; used in the idiomatic phrase 'take a pew'.
“Come in and take a pew while I make us some tea.”
“He gestured toward the armchair and invited his guest to take a pew before starting the interview.”
03gun sound
B1 · Intermediate Informal
interj. the sound people make when pretending to fire a laser or a toy gun.
interj. an onomatopoeic representation of the sound of a laser gun or blaster, common in science fiction contexts.
“The children ran around the garden shouting 'pew pew' at each other.”
“The low-budget sci-fi film used a simple 'pew' sound effect every time the hero fired his plastic blaster.”
Synonyms
Real-World Examples
“Her audience, crammed into the pews of Rockefeller Memorial chapel at the University of Chicago , burst into spontaneous applause.” “Watching from the pews of the Sydney courtroom, Davies and Baird’s family shook their heads as the footage was played.” Etymology
From Middle English pewe, from Old French puiee, puïe (“balustrade, balcony”), from Latin podia, plural of podium (“parapet, podium”), from Ancient Greek πόδιον (pódion, “little foot”), from πούς (poús, “foot”). Doublet of podia.
See phew.
Onomatopoeic.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
01. take a pew
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.C2 ProficiencyIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.8.5–9.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 6.0114–120
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- C2 · Proficiency
- Updated
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