noun
Etymology
Origin of sewing
Middle English word dating back to 1250–1300; see origin at sew 1, -ing 1
Explanation
Sewing is the craft of stitching things using a needle and thread. If you enjoy sewing, your elaborate, hand-stitched Halloween costumes might be the envy of all your friends. Before the invention of the sewing machine in the 1800s, sewing was done by hand. This kind of sewing involves threading a needle and taking repeated stitches through fabric, to attach several pieces to each other. The sewing that goes into a modern, mass-produced piece of clothing requires speedy, electric-powered sewing machines doing all the stitching. You can also use this word for a stitching project: "Have you seen my sewing? I thought I left it on the coffee table."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We don't believe that sewing is going away," says Palaniswamy Rajan, chairman and chief executive of Softwear Automation, based in the US state of Georgia.
From BBC • May 18, 2026
Tracye Saar, who is her mother’s youngest daughter and also her studio manager, has memories of sitting under the long wooden tables at the ICCC, smelling the dust and oil from the sewing machines.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
Karen’s Bernina sewing machine was struggling, so I disassembled the motor and turned down the commutator on the lathe.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 2, 2026
The mother-of-two said she works all day sewing clothes and embroidering but she can't afford baby formula for her youngest.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
Margaret, who went by Peggy, also did sewing for the servants who were part of General Washington’s household, and records show her receiving pay from October 1776 until April 1779.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
