1. past tense of paw; touched or handled clumsily or roughly with the hands
Usage: often implies unwanted or inappropriate touching
2. past tense of paw; struck or scraped with a paw or foot (of an animal)

Examples

• The horse pawed the ground impatiently.
• The cat pawed at the dangling string.
• He pawed through the papers on his desk looking for the report.
• The dog pawed at the door wanting to go outside.
• She felt uncomfortable when he pawed at her arm during the conversation.
• The bull pawed the dirt before charging.