What does hacksawing mean?
Hacksawing means cutting with a hacksaw, a hand-powered frame saw with a toothed metal blade. The form is normally used when describing the activity itself, as in “hacksawing through a metal pipe,” and it may also appear in the present continuous, as in “She is hacksawing a piece of timber.” The word is relatively uncommon in ordinary conversation but remains natural in workshop, construction, and manual-work contexts. Figuratively, hacksawing can describe a process that is slow, exhausting, and made up of many separate obstacles or tasks. The expression carries a slightly old-fashioned, practical tone and evokes the physical effort of using a manual tool. It is especially useful when the important point is not simply that something is being cut, but that the cutting is laborious or prolonged.
verbHacksawing is the activity of cutting wood, metal, or another material with a hacksaw. In figurative use, it can describe prolonged, painstaking, piecemeal work that resembles the slow action of a hand saw.
- Cutting material with a hacksaw.
- Undertaking prolonged, painstaking, piecemeal work.
"They spent the afternoon hacksawing through the heavy metal frame."
"The workers continued hacksawing through the stack of wooden beams."
"After months of hacksawing through the budget, the committee finally approved the plan."
A hacksaw is all teeth and patience—hacksawing is what happens when a simple cut turns into a workout.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does hacksawing come from?
Hacksawing is derived from hacksaw, a compound formed from the English words hack and saw. The two elements have long histories: hack referred to cutting or chopping, while saw named a tool with a toothed blade for cutting material. The compound ultimately developed into both the name of the tool and a verb meaning to cut with it; hacksawing is the present-participle form of that verb.
Related word forms
How hacksawing is actually used
Hacksawing is the present participle and gerund form of hacksaw. It is commonly used for the literal action of cutting with a hand-powered frame saw, while figurative use is informal and suggests slow, laborious, or excessively detailed work.
Easily confused with hacksawing
A hacksaw is the saw or the base verb; hacksawing is the present participle and emphasizes the act of cutting with such a saw.