# pew

/ˈpju/ (US) · /pjˈuː/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/pew
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. church bench

noun · CEFR B2

a long wooden seat in a church where many people sit together.

For teachers: 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.

### 2. a seat

noun · CEFR C1 · Humorous · Informal · British English

a funny or old-fashioned word for a chair or a place to sit.

For teachers: 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.

### 3. gun sound

interjection · CEFR B1 · Informal

the sound people make when pretending to fire a laser or a toy gun.

For teachers: 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.

## Examples

- The old church has uncomfortable wooden pews.
- The wedding guests filled every pew until there was only standing room left at the back of the chapel.
- Sunlight filtered through the stained glass, casting vibrant patterns across the polished oak pews that had served the small community for over a century.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.