paw

(pô)

1. The foot of an animal, especially a quadruped, that has claws or nails.
2. Informal A human hand, especially a large clumsy one: “Lennie dabbled his big paw in the water” (John Steinbeck).

1. To strike with the paw or paws.
2. To strike or scrape with a beating motion: The bull pawed the ground before charging.
3. To handle clumsily, rudely, or with too much familiarity. See Synonyms at touch.

1. To scrape the ground with the forefeet: The horse pawed restlessly.
2. To handle someone or something clumsily, rudely, or with too much familiarity: Don't paw at everything you see.

Related Forms:

• pawˈer noun