sew

¹ American  

[soh] / soʊ /

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 ).

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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 American  

[soo] / su /

verb (used with object)

sewed, sewing

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

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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 British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• sewable
  adjective

Etymology

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; see also 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”; see also sewer ¹

Explanation

Sew describes stitching something together. If you sew up the holes in your socks, you use thread and a needle to close them. The word sew comes from the Old English word siwian, to stitch. You can sew a patch on a pair of jeans, sew a dress, or sew up a hole in your grandmother's old quilt. A figurative meaning of sew, as in the phrase to sew something up, is to secure something or bring it to a happy conclusion, like sewing up the plot in the last chapter of a book. Don't confuse sew with sow, to plant or set in motion.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sew sewed sewing sewn

But regardless, he said, Democrats would have to find a way to "sew these two very large groups back together" if they wanted to reverse recent election losses.

From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2026

She had always been creative, experimenting with watercolors and learning to sew and embroider at a young age.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

She said she used to purchase fabrics from the luxury department store Liberty London and her mother-in-law bought her a sewing machine and encouraged her to sew.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

Others simply mocked the assertion that a new ballroom would sew up the president’s apparent security concerns.

From Salon ● May 1, 2026

"But who's going to sew up the boy's coat? That's what I would like to know."

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman

“My father built a cabin and gardened; we raised chickens and sheep. My mother was a schoolteacher who sewed all my clothes and dolls.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

She’d hired a local BBQ judge who emptied out a hog, stuffed it with pulled pork and sewed it back together.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026

Ireland sewed up the play-off place in the group thanks to Troy Parrott's 96th-minute hat-trick goal handing them a 3-2 win over third-placed Hungary.

From Barron's ● Nov. 16, 2025

While the girls sewed, a nun read aloud so that no-one talked.

From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025

Because seamstresses were paid by the number of garments they sewed each day, the lost hour was precious.

From "Fannie Never Flinched" by Mary Cronk Farrell

Some 45 original stockholders invested alongside Hawk, a sewing machine salesman.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

Only after her plight was the centerpiece of a Las Vegas Sun article about public assistance did the welfare department set her up with a sewing class.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

Other recent events have focused on “lost arts,” including sewing, knitting and jewelry making, in which Edenwald residents have offered instruction and bins of yarn.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026

When she’s not writing, she enjoys playing dominoes, sewing and spending time at the beach.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2026

He probably assumed I was still upstairs sewing and cleaning, expecting me to come down to the kitchen in a little while to help Ma make supper.

From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu

He had slipped them into specially fitted, bottle-size pockets sewn into his overcoat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026

The dresses have been sewn, the jewellery has been polished and New York's hairdressers and make-up artists have been fully booked ahead of the Met Gala 2026.

From BBC ● May 3, 2026

All of this ambiguity is intentional, sewn into the script with as much care as Sam stitches her dresses.

From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026

That genius Andrew Friedman has seemingly perfectly and tightly sewn together another title team.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 2026

She reached into the hidden pocket sewn into the side of her skirt and took out a book bound in brown paper.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

Related Words

• embroider
• fasten
• stitch
• tailor