the part of the skull of a vertebrate that frames the mouth and holds the teeth
"The surgeon carefully examined the patient's broken jaw to ensure it would heal properly around the missing tooth."
the bones of the skull that frame the mouth and serve to open it; the bones that hold the teeth
"The surgeon carefully realigned his fractured jaw after the accident caused severe damage to the bones holding his teeth."
holding device consisting of one or both of the opposing parts of a tool that close to hold an object
"The mechanic tightened the vice jaw until it firmly gripped the broken bolt."
One of the bones, usually bearing teeth, which form the framework of the mouth.
"The doctor X-rayed his jaw to check if the broken bone was healing properly after he fell."
In plain English: A jaw is your strong, bony part of the face that holds your teeth and lets you chew food.
"She closed her jaw tightly after hearing the bad news."
Usage: As a noun, jaw refers to one of the two movable bones that support your upper and lower teeth. In everyday conversation, it is often used metaphorically in phrases like "drop one's jaw" to express shock or surprise at something unexpected.
talk socially without exchanging too much information
"the men were sitting in the cafe and shooting the breeze"
censure severely or angrily
"The mother scolded the child for entering a stranger's car"
"The deputy ragged the Prime Minister"
"The customer dressed down the waiter for bringing cold soup"
To assail or abuse by scolding.
"The teacher had to jaw the entire class about their messy desks until they finally cleaned up."
In plain English: To jaw is to talk casually and aimlessly with someone for a long time without saying anything important.
"The loud noise made me drop my jaw in shock."
To assail or abuse by scolding.
"The teacher had to jaw the student repeatedly until he finally did his homework correctly."
In plain English: Jaw describes something that is so obvious it feels impossible to deny.
"He had to bite his jawed lip hard enough to make him wince from the pain of the sharp toothbrush bristles against them."
The word "jaw" entered English from Anglo-Norman and Old French, where it originally referred to both the jawbone and the sides of the lower face. While some scholars suggest a connection to Vulgar Latin for ga(v)ota meaning "cheek," others argue against this link based on Middle English rhyming patterns that indicate a different vowel sound.