To chew means to grind food between your teeth before swallowing it. When you chew a piece of bread or an apple, your teeth break it into smaller pieces while your saliva softens it, making it easier to swallow and digest. Most foods need to be chewed thoroughly: swallowing big chunks can make you choke or get a stomachache.

Different foods require different amounts of chewing. An ice cream cone barely needs any chewing at all, while a tough piece of steak or a carrot stick requires serious jaw work. Some people chew gum, which is made specifically for chewing but not swallowing. When a dog gnaws on a toy or bone, we say it chews the toy.

The word also appears in some common expressions. When someone tells you to chew on an idea, they mean to think about it carefully over time. If someone chews you out, they're scolding you angrily. And if a problem is particularly difficult, people might call it a tough one to chew on. When you bite off more than you can chew, you've taken on a task that's too difficult or too much work to handle comfortably.