maw

noun

ˈmȯ 

1

: the receptacle into which food is taken by swallowing:

a

: stomach

b

: crop

2

a

: the throat, gullet, or jaws especially of a voracious animal

the gaping maw of the tiger

b

: something suggestive of a gaping maw

the dark maw of the cave

Examples of maw in a Sentence

the gaping maw of the tiger

Recent Examples on the Web

This comes from the same shared nightmare of the Sisterhood, replete with the terrifying black maw and blue machine lights. —Jeff Spry, Space.com, 24 Dec. 2024

As art would no longer respond to itself, and no longer had any constraints, other human activities could be drawn from the world into its hungry maw. —Dean Kissick, Harper's Magazine, 2 Dec. 2024

Bob hitches a ride to New York in the rear of a station wagon, the driver unknown, the small talk between them nonexistent, and is dropped off at the open maw of a tunnel. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2024

Unbearably taut, the 40-second sequence of people shrieking in suffering as they're pulled into Jean Jacket's maw proves that gore-free horror is equally, if not more, scarring. —Keith Staskiewicz, EW.com, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English maga; akin to Old High German mago stomach, Lithuanian makas purse

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

maw

noun

ˈmȯ 

1

: a body part (as a stomach or a crop) that receives swallowed food

2

: the throat, gullet, or jaws especially of a flesh-eating animal