How to Use paw in a Sentence

paw

1 of 2 noun
  • The dog injured his paw.
  • Well, her hands and Blue’s paws that is.
    — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Both have eyes and snouts, tails and paws, four legs and fur.
    — Jaron Lanier, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2024
  • Barry was one of the first with paws on the ground at camp.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 11 Feb. 2026
  • Cat paws have scent glands that will mark the blanket as their own.
    — John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 8 Aug. 2023
  • Most have some lighter fur, colored whiskers, or mixed-tone paw pads.
    — Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
  • The bear had raked a paw down the back of the tent, ripping it wide open.
    — Doris Decleene, Outdoor Life, 25 Feb. 2026
  • Winnie is a small lowrider, but her paws are huge!
    — Ayrika L Whitney, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
  • Tune in to see these furry acts put their best paws forward.
    — Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
  • Unleash those hockey sticks paws and gear up.
    — Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 3 June 2026
  • Some of his teeth were missing and one paw appeared to be swollen.
    — Emily Anthes Andres Kudacki, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2023
  • Muddy, wet shoes, boots, and paws can quickly make floors a mess.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, Southern Living, 22 Dec. 2025
  • The shelter said the foothold traps did not cut deep into the dog’s paws.
    — Kate Linderman, Kansas City Star, 6 Feb. 2024
  • Along the way, two clear footprints caught my eye, one from the front paw, one from the back.
    — Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 4 Feb. 2026
  • Moose putting his paw out while Cheeto is in labor.
    — Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 27 Aug. 2025
  • The mother cat sat with her babies sleeping by her paws.
    — Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Her paws butted up against the pole that slid behind the door to keep it from being opened.
    — Liz O'Connell, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
  • Others want to take an adorable paw or floppy ear and pretend to eat it.
    — Emilie Le Beau Lucchesi, Discover Magazine, 21 Feb. 2024
  • Stray Cat, in full black latex, mimed licking her paws.
    — Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025
  • His paws began to knuckle and his back legs weakened.
    — Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 2 Nov. 2025
  • The skull, backbone and paws were the size of an average adult boar.
    — Bjorn Dihle, Outdoor Life, 21 Sep. 2023
  • Her paws would flash, pinning the gold belly of a sunfish to the grass.
    — Literary Hub, 14 Apr. 2026
  • Add water, insert a paw, twist, then dab dry with a towel.
    — Bestreviews, Mercury News, 15 May 2026
  • Don’t forget to check for cracks in paw pads or redness between the toes.
    — Alexis Simmerman, Austin American Statesman, 16 Dec. 2025
  • The cat who reaches through the kennel bars and hooks a paw around your finger.
    — Cathy M. Rosenthal, San Antonio Express-News, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Large to match paw size was definitely the right call.
    — Ayrika L Whitney, USA Today, 10 Oct. 2025
  • The mouse sat motionless in a glass case, with one paw raised in a greeting.
    — Kansas City Star, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Use booties on walks to protect their delicate paw pads.
    — Amy Deyoung, USA Today, 9 June 2026
  • Rather than scanning a room with his eyes, Klaus will use his paws to feel his way around.
    — Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025
  • Pets walk on the wet floor and then lick their paws, ingesting the problem oils.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 10 Feb. 2026

paw

2 of 2 verb
  • The bull was pawing the dirt.
  • She pawed through her purse to find her cell phone.
  • The celebrity couple was pawed by a mob of adoring fans.
  • A crowd of customers was pawing over the remaining sales items.
  • She claims that her boss got drunk and tried to paw her at the company Christmas party.
  • Black bears will defend their young and have been known to paw and bite tents with food inside.
    — CBS News, 10 July 2017
  • Half a dozen excavators roared and pawed at the rust-red ground.
    — The Economist, 8 Feb. 2020
  • When all was done her pasture mate pawed at her grave, laid down, and rolled and rolled — over and over again.
    — Chi Varnado, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Oct. 2025
  • Sam’s two oldest daughters start to paw at her feet for attention.
    — Rachel Syme, New Republic, 19 Oct. 2017
  • He could be seen leaping from side to side and pawing at all the bubbles during the clip.
    — Alyce Collins, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Aug. 2025
  • Mila did find some areas that smelled enough like truffles to mark the spot by pawing the ground.
    — Ellen Garrison, sacbee, 24 Dec. 2017
  • Watch your dog for signs of squinting, blinking, runny eyes, or pawing at his face.
    — Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 24 Dec. 2025
  • Same goes for soybeans, and if the snow isn’t too deep, deer will paw it away to get to waste grain in both corn and bean fields.
    — Scott Bestul, Field & Stream, 31 Jan. 2023
  • These are toys where a dog must push something around until a treat falls out or must paw open a latch to gain access to a treat.
    — Cathy M. Rosenthal, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Dec. 2017
  • All that careful counting and pawing through the register for change is slow.
    — Town & Country, 28 Jan. 2019
  • TatorTot was on his bed, barking and pawing at him, licking his face.
    — Molly Guthrey, Twin Cities, 2 May 2017
  • Dancers pawed playfully at their prey, flipping their hair at patrons like a fishing line.
    — Matt Flegenheimer, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2018
  • All of these women who were raped and pawed and had their careers destroyed like (inaudible).
    — Fox News, 6 Mar. 2018
  • When the kitten breaks away, the cat lightly paws his face, prompting the older feline to sit up.
    — Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 Oct. 2025
  • Toulouse carefully paws around the area and then pulls the blanket over it, as if tucking his sibling in.
    — Lydia Patrick, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Sep. 2025
  • The leopard jumped partway into the vehicle, scratched the leg of the tourist, and pawed and bit at his shoe.
    — Richie Hertzberg, National Geographic, 21 May 2018
  • The shelter posted a video of the determined Quilty cat trying to paw his way out of his cell.
    — Melissa Locker, Time, 6 Nov. 2019
  • An Uber driver who paws away at an iPhone mounted on a dashboard isn’t captured.
    — Kyle Stock, Houston Chronicle, 19 Mar. 2018
  • Most dog owners have likely experienced your dog pawing at your legs.
    — Zoe Denenberg, Southern Living, 19 Feb. 2026
  • One pooch starts licking Louie's toe while the other licks his hand, pawing clumsily at the tot.
    — Christina Oehler, Woman's Day, 31 July 2015
  • These challenges can range from upset stomach to frequent itching, hair loss, and even paw biting (just to name a few).
    — Ysolt Usigan, Woman's Day, 11 Jan. 2023
  • Two frisky felines, Frank and Maria, pawed at each through the planks of one of two bridges that spanned a picture window.
    — Vincent T. Davis, San Antonio Express-News, 26 Feb. 2018
  • All the lines to and from the world, all the hungry beings clawing and sucking and pawing at it, everything cut off.
    — David Canfield, EW.com, 17 July 2019
  • Fitness Mallory Pugh paws a soccer ball like a panther does its prey.
    — Brittney McNamara, Teen Vogue, 15 Mar. 2019
  • Now Oladipo looks like a bull, backing up and pawing at the dirt and spotting a glint of red and just storming toward the rim.
    — Gregg Doyel, Indianapolis Star, 16 Apr. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'paw.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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