noun
pew
PYOO/pjuː/
A long bench with a back for seating people in a church.
The polished wooden pew has a long seat, high back, and carved ends.
Etymology
The elevated platform or seat of podium survives in the earliest pews: raised, often enclosed seats for particular worshipers. The word later came to mean a fixed church bench seating several people.
In context
Imagine walking into a modern church on a Sunday morning. You know, you sit in the pew and the priest stands at the altar
More examples
- We slide along the pew to make room for another visitor.
- Hymnals rest in a rack on the back of each pew.
- The church's wooden pews creak as everyone sits down.
Forms
pew · pews