Join free

haw

English · Thesaurus

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

haw¹

  • /hɔː/ UK
  • /hɔː/ US

Rhymes with -ɔː

Where it comes from

From Middle English ha (interjection). Compare Old Norse há (interjection), Middle Low German ha, hā (interjection), Old High German aha, hei (interjection).

interjection

  1. An imitation of laughter, often used to express scorn or disbelief. Often doubled or tripled (haw haw or haw haw haw). You think that song was good? Haw!
  2. An intermission or hesitation of speech, with a sound somewhat like "haw"; the sound so made. Hums or haws.

verb haws · hawing · hawed

  1. To stop, in speaking, with a sound like haw; to speak with interruption and hesitation.

haw²

  • /hɔː/ UK
  • /hɔː/ US

Rhymes with -ɔː

Where it comes from

From Middle English hawe, from Old English haga (“enclosure, hedge”), from Proto-Germanic *hagô (compare West Frisian haach, Dutch haag, German Hag (“hedged farmland”), Norwegian Bokmål hage (“garden”)), from Proto-Indo-European *kagʰom (compare Welsh cae (“field”), Latin caulae (“sheepfold, enclosure”), cohum (“strap between plowbeam and yoke”), Russian кош (koš, “tent”), коша́ра (košára, “sheepfold”), Sanskrit कक्ष (kakṣa, “curtain wall”)), from *kagʰ- 'to catch, grasp' (compare Welsh cau (“to clasp”), Oscan kahad (“may he seize”).

noun haws

  1. Fruit of the hawthorn. The kanary-nut may be considered equal to a hazel-nut, but I have met with nothing else superior to our crabs, our haws, beech-nuts, wild plums, and acorns; fruits which would be highly esteemed by the natives of these islands, and would form an important part of their sustenance.

    Similar: hawthorn berry

  2. historical A hedge.
  3. obsolete Something that has little value or importance; a whit or jot. wele not leaue a man of lawe, Nor a paper worth a hawe, And make him worſe than a dawe, That ſhall ſtand againſt Iacke Strawe.

haw³

  • /hɔː/ UK
  • /hɔː/ US

Rhymes with -ɔː

Where it comes from

Assumed to be interjectory, but compare Old English hawian (“to observe, look”)

interjection

  1. An instruction for a horse or other animal to turn towards the driver, typically left.

verb haws · hawing · hawed

  1. of an animal To turn towards the driver, typically to the left. This horse won't haw when I tell him to.

    Opposite: gee

  2. To cause (an animal) to turn left. You may have to go to the front of the pack and physically haw the lead dog.

    Opposite: gee

haw⁴

  • /hɔː/ UK
  • /hɔː/ US

Rhymes with -ɔː

Where it comes from

Late Middle English (denoting a discharge from the eye), of uncertain origin. Perhaps related to Etymology 2 above, describing a berry.

noun haws

  1. countable The third eyelid, or nictitating membrane.
  2. uncountable A disease of the nictitating membrane.

Haw⁵

Where it comes from

From Old English haga (“enclosure”). Also a back-formation from Middle English Hawkin, a diminutive of Harry or of a given name meaning "a hawk". Doublet of Haig.

proper noun Haws

  1. A topographic and patronymic surname transferred from the given name.
  2. A river in the US state of North Carolina.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: hawthorn, yee, hee, haver, haw-haw, haffle, hiccup, hee haw, hick, hæsitate, heehaw, hench, hough, hoast, hault, hawm

Translations

Every language

noun hedge

Françaishaie

intj an instruction for a horse or other animal to turn towards the driver

中文嗬 hē
Portuguêsôa, ôô
Françaisdia
Deutschhü (st)
Românăhăis

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"haw." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/haw. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

haw. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/haw

Chicago

"haw." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/haw.

BibTeX
@misc{haw_2026,
  title = {haw},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/haw},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}