Knife vs. Saw — What's the Difference?

A knife (plural knives; from Old Norse knifr 'knife, dirk') is a tool or weapon with a cutting edge or blade, often attached to a handle or hilt. One of the earliest tools used by humanity, knives appeared at least 2.5 million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools.

A saw is a tool consisting of a tough blade, wire, or chain with a hard toothed edge. It is used to cut through material, very often wood though sometimes metal or stone.

A cutting instrument consisting of a sharp blade attached to a handle.

Any of various tools, either hand-operated or power-driven, having a thin metal blade or disk with a sharp, usually toothed edge, used for cutting wood, metal, or other hard materials.

A cutting edge; a blade.

A familiar saying, especially one that has become trite through repetition.

To use a knife on, especially to stab; wound with a knife.

To cut or divide with a saw.

(Informal) To betray or attempt to defeat by underhand means.

To produce or shape with a saw

To cut or slash a way through something with or as if with a knife

To make back-and-forth motions through or on

A utensil or a tool designed for cutting, consisting of a flat piece of hard material, usually steel or other metal (the blade), usually sharpened on one edge, attached to a handle. The blade may be pointed for piercing.

To use a saw

A weapon designed with the aforementioned specifications intended for slashing and/or stabbing and too short to be called a sword. A dagger.

To undergo cutting with a saw

Any blade-like part in a tool or a machine designed for cutting, such as that of a chipper.

Past tense of see1.

(transitive) To cut with a knife.

A tool with a toothed blade used for cutting hard substances, in particular wood or metal.

(transitive) To use a knife to injure or kill by stabbing, slashing, or otherwise using the sharp edge of the knife as a weapon.

Such a tool with an abrasive coating instead of teeth.

(intransitive) To cut through as if with a knife.

A musical saw.

(transitive) To betray, especially in the context of a political slate.

A sawtooth wave.

(transitive) To positively ignore, especially in order to denigrate; compare cut.

(obsolete) Something spoken; speech, discourse.

An instrument consisting of a thin blade, usually of steel and having a sharp edge for cutting, fastened to a handle, but of many different forms and names for different uses; as, table knife, drawing knife, putty knife, pallet knife, pocketknife, penknife, chopping knife, etc..

(archaic) A saying or proverb.

A sword or dagger.

(obsolete) Opinion, idea, belief.

To prune with the knife.

(obsolete) Proposal, suggestion; possibility.

To cut or stab with a knife.

(obsolete) Dictate; command; decree.

Fig.: To stab in the back; to try to defeat by underhand means, esp. in politics; to vote or work secretly against (a candidate of one's own party).

(transitive) To cut (something) with a saw.

Edge tool used as a cutting instrument; has a pointed blade with a sharp edge and a handle

(intransitive) To make a motion back and forth similar to cutting something with a saw.

A weapon with a handle and blade with a sharp point

(intransitive) To be cut with a saw.

Any long thin projection that is transient;

(transitive) To form or produce (something) by cutting with a saw.

Use a knife on;

Something said; speech; discourse.

A saying; a proverb; a maxim.

Dictate; command; decree.

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.

To cut with a saw; to separate with a saw; as, to saw timber or marble.

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.

Also used figuratively; as, to saw the air.

To use a saw; to practice sawing; as, a man saws well.

To cut, as a saw; as, the saw or mill saws fast.

To be cut with a saw; as, the timber saws smoothly.

A condensed but memorable saying embodying some important fact of experience that is taken as true by many people

Hand tool having a toothed blade for cutting

A power tool for cutting wood

Cut with a saw;