sew

¹

[soh]

verb (used with object)

sewed, sewn, sewed, sewing. 

1. to join or attach by stitches.

2. to make, repair, etc., (a garment) by such means.

3. to enclose or secure with stitches.

   to sew flour in a bag.

4. to close (a hole, wound, etc.) by means of stitches (usually followed byup ).

verb (used without object)

sewed, sewn, sewed, sewing. 

1. to work with a needle and thread or with a sewing machine.

verb phrase

1. sew up

   1. Informal.,  to get or have a monopoly of; control exclusively.

   2. Informal.,  to complete or conclude (arrangements, negotiations, etc.) successfully.

      They were about to sew up the deal when the argument started.

   3. to gain or be assured of.

      He tried to sew up as many votes as possible before the convention.

sew

²

[soo]

verb (used with object)

sewed, sewing 

1. to ground (a vessel) at low tide (sometimes followed by byup ).

verb (used without object)

sewed, sewing 

1. (of a vessel) to be grounded at low tide.

noun

1. the amount of additional water necessary to float a grounded vessel.

sew

/ səʊ /

verb

1. to join or decorate (pieces of fabric, etc) by means of a thread repeatedly passed through with a needle or similar implement

2. (tr; often foll by on or up) to attach, fasten, or close by sewing

3. (tr) to make (a garment, etc) by sewing

Other Word Forms

• sewable adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sew¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English seuen, souen, Old English siw(i)an, siowan; cognate with Old High German siuwan, Old Norse sauma, Gothic siujan; akin to Sanskrit sī́vyati “(he) sews,” Latin suere; seam

Origin of sew²

First recorded in 1580–90; from Middle French sewer, shortening of essewer, from unattested Vulgar Latin exaquāre, equivalent to Latin ex- “out of, from, thoroughly” + verb derivative of aqua “water”; sewer ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of sew¹

Old English sēowan; related to Old Norse sӯja, Gothic siujan, Old High German siuwen, Latin suere to sew, Sanskrit sīvjati he sews

Example Sentences

There are dozens of her favored shirt form, each made from the same sewing pattern in colors ranging anywhere from beige to a deep magenta.

From Los Angeles Times

Only a fraction of some 200 industrial sewing machines on the floor are in operation, as workers make the last of the season's children's garment orders for some of the biggest US retailers.

From BBC

In between pinning every inch, she tells me about how her grandma taught her the sewing basics at 15, as she had dreams of being a drag queen.

From Los Angeles Times

Using paint to create bright, sweeping strokes and cutting canvases apart to sew them together in new ways, Hurtado questioned the abstraction of phrases such as “I am.”

From Los Angeles Times

At the height of operations, the firm produced 400,000 garments a month but when the BBC visits, hundreds of sewing machines lie gathering dust in one of the warehouses.

From BBC

Related Words

• embroider 
• fasten 
• stitch 
• tailor