1. rolling up or gathering a sail by hauling on its clew lines
Usage: nautical
2. winding yarn or thread into a ball

Examples

• The sailors were clewing the mainsail as the storm approached.
• She spent the afternoon clewing wool for her knitting project.
• The crew began clewing up the topsails in preparation for docking.
• He was clewing the fishing line back onto the reel.
• The experienced sailor taught the novice how to properly clew the jib.
• After the race, they were clewing all the sails quickly.