jaws 1 of 2

noun

plural of jaw
as in talks
friendly, informal conversation or an instance of this now that he's retired, he's got all afternoon for a jaw with his friends at the senior center

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

jaws

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of jaw
1
as in scolds
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings you don't have to jaw me to death just because I bite my nails

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in chats
to engage in casual or rambling conversation just a group of girls sitting around the locker room and jawing about the usual stuff

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of jaws
Noun
Texture is paramount here; Gardner prefers a rib that forces your jaws to work a bit. — Joseph Hernandez, Bon Appetit Magazine, 1 July 2026 The front treble hook was embedded in the pike’s jaws but was no longer attached to the body of the plug. — Jack G. Mell, Outdoor Life, 2 July 2026 Only once the animal was immobilized did the jaws come into play, and even then, likely not for a crushing kill. — Scott Travers, Forbes.com, 1 July 2026 Other animals can crush the ultra-tough shells of pollen grains with teeth, jaws, or other similar body parts; butterflies have only a proboscis, a flexible, strawlike structure usually reserved for sipping liquid. — Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 16 June 2026 Patient money On a recent morning at the plant, with the smell of grape juice hanging in the air, giant rounds of cardboard unspooled into machinery, and metal jaws crushed the material neatly into juiceboxes. — Sacbee.com, 13 June 2026 In his weirdest picture—the late, baroque, campy Allegory of Faith—a bug-eyed female figure is shown clutching her chest, one foot balanced perilously on a globe, while a snake gushing blood from its jaws gyrates in the foreground. — Clare Bucknell, Harpers Magazine, 23 June 2026 In an interview with Mental Floss, competitive eater Yasir Salem discusses how speed eaters will chew gum to strengthen their jaws to avoid fatigue during competitions. — Jennifer Borresen, USA Today, 3 July 2026 The blockbuster trade that sent Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers had dads everywhere dropping their jaws and grill tongs. — Vincent Z. Mercogliano, New York Times, 23 June 2026
Verb
Ben smashes chests and heads in, tears jaws out, rips faces off, and director Johannes Roberts makes sure to include brief close-ups of the carnage, lit just dimly enough to avoid truly grossing us out. — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for jaws
  1. talks
  2. scolds
  3. chats
  4. chatter
  5. lectures
  6. converses
  7. table talk
  8. reprimands
Noun
  • Qatar also said technical talks between Iran and the United States are continuing, but there are currently no high-level meetings between the two.
    — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 1 July 2026
  • The Iranian regime’s apparent hesitancy to resume in-person talks is a significant step back from the high-level talks that took place in Switzerland earlier this month following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the countries.
    — Shannon K. Kingston, ABC News, 30 June 2026
Definition of talks
Verb
  • Someone else scolds the offender.
    — Judith Martin, Mercury News, 16 June 2026
  • Inspired by This Is Spinal Tap, Cundieff makes quick work of lambasting the casual misogyny and homophobia ingrained in hardcore rap, but also of the media scolds unable to parse the message of the music.
    — Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026
Definition of scolds
Verb
  • While Yahia chats with The Star, his daughter, Hannah, takes a tray of baklava out of the oven.
    — Jenna Thompson June 24, Kansas City Star, 24 June 2026
  • Inside the motel, Paula chats with Sky.
    — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 10 June 2026
Definition of chats
Noun
  • Emmys season is about ot begin, and with it, a slew of contenders destined for nominations and memorialization by way of snubs chatter.
    — Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 4 July 2026
  • There is a lot of chatter out there on the interwebs about who will and won’t be in the house for Big Brother season 28.
    — Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026
Definition of chatter
Verb
  • Today’s successful downtowns rely on a mix of ingredients, said Steven Falk, the former city manager of Lafayette, who’s served as an interim city executive in Oakland and Richmond and who lectures at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.
    — Martha Ross, Mercury News, 2 June 2026
  • Bad teams are given mechanisms to recover, not lectures about bootstraps.
    — Eddie Brown, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 May 2026
Definition of lectures
Verb
  • Epstein converses with Summers Larry Summers, Clinton’s Treasury secretary and the director of the National Economic Council under former President Obama, corresponded with Epstein numerous times via email.
    — Max Rego, The Hill, 13 Nov. 2025
Definition of converses
Noun
  • When the table talk turns political, Hagains suggests shifting your approach instead of your mood.
    — Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 21 Nov. 2025
  • Each monthly box includes three recipe guides, skill lessons, a kitchen tool, a kitchen project, an apron patch, table talk cards, and a grocery list.
    — Jessica Booth, Parents, 16 Dec. 2024
Definition of table talk
Verb
  • The emperor reprimands her for being late for the rainmaking ritual.
    — Lavender Au, The Dial, 30 June 2026
  • His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
Definition of reprimands

Browse Nearby Words

jawing
jaws
jay
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Jaws.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/jaws. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on jaws

Nglish: Translation of jaws for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All