Read the sentence from “The Sunken Treasure” by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Tired of tending sheep, he next apprenticed himself to a ship-carpenter, and spent about four years in hewing the crooked limbs of oak-trees into knees for vessels.

Read the dictionary entry.

hew (hyoo) v. 1. to make or shape with or as if with an ax 2. to cut down with an ax; fell 3. to strike or cut; cleave 4. to cut something with repeated blows, as of an ax

Which definition most closely matches the meaning of the word hew as it is used in the sentence?

definition 4
definition 3
definition 2
definition 1