sow

1
[ soh ]
See synonyms for: sowsowedsownsower on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object),sowed, sown or sowed, sow·ing.
  1. to scatter (seed) over land, earth, etc., for growth; plant.

  2. to plant seed for: to sow a crop.

  1. to scatter seed over (land, earth, etc.) for the purpose of growth.

  2. to implant, introduce, or promulgate; seek to propagate or extend; disseminate: to sow distrust or dissension.

  3. to strew or sprinkle with anything.

verb (used without object),sowed, sown or sowed, sow·ing.
  1. to sow seed, as for the production of a crop.

Origin of sow

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English sowen, Old English sāwan; cognate with Dutch zaaien, German säen, Old Norse sā, Gothic saian; akin to seed, Latin sēmen “seed”

Other words for sow

Other words from sow

  • sow·a·ble, adjective
  • sow·er, noun
  • un·sowed, adjective

Other definitions for sow (2 of 2)

sow2
[ sou ]

noun
  1. an adult female swine.

  2. the adult female of various other animals, as the bear.

  1. Metallurgy.

    • a large oblong mass of iron that has solidified in the common channel through which the molten metal flows to the smaller channels in which the pigs solidify.

    • the common channel itself.

    • a basin holding any of certain molten nonferrous metals to be cast.

Origin of sow

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English soue, sou(we), Old English sugu, sū; cognate with German Sau, Old Norse sȳr, Latin sūs, Greek hûs, Tocharian B suwo; see swine

Other words from sow

  • sowlike, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use sow in a sentence

  • He turned by-and-by and walked onward in a still mood—the receptive mood into which God sows rare seed.

    The Gentle Art of Cooking Wives | Elizabeth Strong Worthington
  • If he sows seeds of unkindness and cruelty to man and beast, no one knows what the blackness of the harvest will be.

    Beautiful Joe | Marshall Saunders
  • He sows no rank or noisome weeds for his childrens children to reap a gruesome harvest.

British Dictionary definitions for sow (1 of 2)

sow1

/ (səʊ) /


verbsows, sowing, sowed, sown or sowed
  1. to scatter or place (seed, a crop, etc) in or on (a piece of ground, field, etc) so that it may grow: to sow wheat; to sow a strip of land

  2. (tr) to implant or introduce: to sow a doubt in someone's mind

Origin of sow

1
Old English sāwan; related to Old Norse sā, Old High German sāen, Old Slavonic seja, Latin serere to sow

Derived forms of sow

  • sowable, adjective
  • sower, noun

British Dictionary definitions for sow (2 of 2)

sow2

/ (saʊ) /


noun
  1. a female adult pig

  2. the female of certain other animals, such as the mink

  1. metallurgy

    • the channels for leading molten metal to the moulds in casting pig iron

    • iron that has solidified in these channels

Origin of sow

2
Old English sugu; related to Old Norse sӯr, Old High German sū, Latin sūs, Norwegian sugga, Dutch zeug: see swine

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with sow

sow

In addition to the idiom beginning with sow

  • sow one's wild oats

also see:

  • can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.