What does chewed mean?
"Chewed" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "chew," which describes the act of biting and grinding food between the teeth so it can be swallowed and digested. The word also extends beyond the dinner table: machines can "chew up" materials, leaving them torn or mangled, and people figuratively "chew over" problems, working them through in their minds as thoroughly as jaws work through a meal. Its idiomatic life is rich — someone who has been "chewed out" has been sternly reprimanded, while friends who are "chewing the fat" are engaged in relaxed, aimless conversation, an expression thought to evoke the old habit of nibbling on fatty salted meat during long chats. Derived from Old English "cēowan," the word has been central to English for well over a thousand years. Familiar yet expressive, "chewed" carries connotations of thoroughness and slow deliberation, which is precisely why its figurative uses feel so natural.
verb"Chewed" is the past tense and past participle of "chew," meaning to grind food between the teeth in order to break it down before swallowing. By extension, it means to ponder or think something over carefully.
- To bite and grind food with the teeth in preparation for swallowing.
- To work or crush something in the mouth or with the teeth repeatedly.
- (Of a machine or surface) to damage, tear, or wear away at something ('the gears chewed up the belt').
- Figuratively, to think about or discuss something at length ('he chewed on the idea for days').
"She slowly chewed her sandwich while rereading the letter."
"The toddler chewed the biscuit into a sticky paste."
"After the meeting, she chewed over his proposal all afternoon."
When you say you 'chewed the fat,' you're echoing an old image of friends idly gnawing on tough salted meat while they talked the evening away.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chewed
The verb "chew" descends from the Old English "cēowan," meaning to bite or chew, and it shares a distant origin with words for rumination such as "cud." It is related to comparable verbs in other Germanic languages, including Dutch "kauwen" and German "kauen." The word has been in continuous use since the earliest stages of English, and its past form "chewed" follows the standard modern pattern.
Related word forms
How chewed is actually used
"Chewed" appears in many vivid informal idioms: being "chewed out" means receiving a harsh scolding (chiefly North American), "chewing the fat" means chatting casually, and "chewing over" something means turning it over mentally. In formal medical or scientific writing, the Latinate term "masticated" often replaces it.
Easily confused with chewed
"Shooed" means driven away by saying "shoo," while "chewed" refers to grinding food with the teeth.