1. [n]  a power tool for cutting wood
2. [n]  hand tool having a toothed blade for cutting
3. [n]  a condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people
4. [v]  cut with a saw; "saw wood for the fireplace"

Saw
"Saw" is a milestone novel of the seventies. It is the first work of fiction ever to hide a hippopotamus. For the first time what has come to be recognized as a common modern neurosis, astronaut angst, gets full play in the fictional universe. For the first time anywhere in the history of fiction, in one of the most passionate encounters ever written, Eileen mates with a Sphere. Solid geometry finally has a face.

more details ...

1. \Saw\ (s[add]),
   imp. of {See}.
   

2. \Saw\, n. [OE. sawe, AS. sagu; akin to secgan to say. See
   {Say}, v. t. and cf. {Saga}.]
   1. Something said; speech; discourse. [Obs.] ``To hearken all
      his sawe.'' --Chaucer.
   2. A saying; a proverb; a maxim.
            His champions are the prophets and apostles, His
            weapons holy saws of sacred writ.     --Shak.
   3. Dictate; command; decree. [Obs.]
            [Love] rules the creatures by his powerful saw.
                                                  --Spenser.
   

3. \Saw\, n. [OE. sawe, AS. sage; akin to D. zaag, G. s["a]ge,
   OHG. sega, saga, Dan. sav, Sw. s[*a]g, Icel. s["o]g, L.
   secare to cut, securis ax, secula sickle. Cf. {Scythe},
   {Sickle}, {Section}, {Sedge}.]
   An instrument for cutting or dividing substances, as wood,
   iron, etc., consisting of a thin blade, or plate, of steel,
   with a series of sharp teeth on the edge, which remove
   successive portions of the material by cutting and tearing.
   Note: Saw is frequently used adjectively, or as the first
         part of a compound.
   {Band saw}, {Crosscut saw}, etc. See under {Band},
      {Crosscut}, etc.
   {Circular saw}, a disk of steel with saw teeth upon its
      periphery, and revolved on an arbor.
   {Saw bench}, a bench or table with a flat top for for sawing,
      especially with a circular saw which projects above the
      table.
   {Saw file}, a three-cornered file, such as is used for
      sharpening saw teeth.
   {Saw frame}, the frame or sash in a sawmill, in which the
      saw, or gang of saws, is held.
   {Saw gate}, a saw frame.
   {Saw gin}, the form of cotton gin invented by Eli Whitney, in
      which the cotton fibers are drawn, by the teeth of a set
      of revolving circular saws, through a wire grating which
      is too fine for the seeds to pass.
   {Saw grass} (Bot.), any one of certain cyperaceous plants
      having the edges of the leaves set with minute sharp
      teeth, especially the {Cladium Mariscus} of Europe, and
      the {Cladium effusum} of the Southern United States. Cf.
      {Razor grass}, under {Razor}.
   {Saw log}, a log of suitable size for sawing into lumber.
   {Saw mandrel}, a mandrel on which a circular saw is fastened
      for running.
   {Saw pit}, a pit over which timbor is sawed by two men, one
      standing below the timber and the other above. --Mortimer.
   {Saw sharpener} (Zo["o]l.), the great titmouse; -- so named
      from its harsh call note. [Prov. Eng.]
   {Saw whetter} (Zo["o]l.), the marsh titmouse ({Parus
      palustris}); -- so named from its call note. [Prov. Eng.]
   {Scroll saw}, a ribbon of steel with saw teeth upon one edge,
      stretched in a frame and adapted for sawing curved
      outlines; also, a machine in which such a saw is worked by
      foot or power.
   

4. \Saw\, v. t. [imp. {Sawed}; p. p. {Sawed} or {Sawn}; p. pr.
   & vb. n. {Sawing}.]
   1. To cut with a saw; to separate with a saw; as, to saw
      timber or marble.
   2. To form by cutting with a saw; as, to saw boards or
      planks, that is, to saw logs or timber into boards or
      planks; to saw shingles; to saw out a panel.
   3. Also used figuratively; as, to saw the air.
   

5. \Saw\, v. i.
   1. To use a saw; to practice sawing; as, a man saws well.
   2. To cut, as a saw; as, the saw or mill saws fast.
   3. To be cut with a saw; as, the timber saws smoothly.