seam

American  

[seem] / sim /

noun

• seams
  plural

1. the line formed by sewing together pieces of cloth, leather, or the like.

2. the stitches used to make such a line.

3. any line formed by abutting edges.

4. any linear indentation or mark, as a wrinkle or scar.

5. Knitting. a line of stitches formed by purling.

6. Geology. a comparatively thin stratum; a bed, as of coal.

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verb (used with object)

• seams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• seamed,
  past participle,  past
• seaming
  present participle

1. to join with or as if with stitches; make the seam or seams of.

2. to furrow; mark with wrinkles, scars, etc.

3. Knitting. to knit with or in a seam.

verb (used without object)

• seams,
  present (3rd person singular)
• seamed,
  past participle,  past
• seaming
  present participle

1. to become cracked, fissured, or furrowed.

2. Knitting. to make a line of stitches by purling.

seam British  

/ siːm /

noun

1. the line along which pieces of fabric are joined, esp by stitching

2. a ridge or line made by joining two edges

3. a stratum of coal, ore, etc

4. a linear indentation, such as a wrinkle or scar

5. surgery another name for suture

6. (modifier) cricket of or relating to a style of bowling in which the bowler utilizes the stitched seam round the ball in order to make it swing in flight and after touching the ground

   a seam bowler

7. full to overflowing

8. dialect doing well, esp financially

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verb

1. (tr) to join or sew together by or as if by a seam

2. to make ridges in (knitting) using purl stitch

3. to mark or become marked with or as if with a seam or wrinkle

seam Scientific  

/ sēm /

1. A thin layer or stratum, as of coal or rock.

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seam Idioms  

1. see burst at the seams; come apart at the seams.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• seamer
  noun
• underseam
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• seams
  plural

Participles

• seaming
  present
• seamed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• seam
  simple
• seams
  simple
• have seamed
  perfect
• has seamed
  perfect
• am seaming
  progressive
• are seaming
  progressive
• is seaming
  progressive
• have been seaming
  perfect progressive
• has been seaming
  perfect progressive

Past

• seamed
  simple
• had seamed
  perfect
• was seaming
  progressive
• were seaming
  progressive
• had been seaming
  perfect progressive

Future

• will seam
  simple
• will have seamed
  perfect
• will be seaming
  progressive
• will have been seaming
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of seam

before 1000; Middle English seme (noun), Old English sēam; cognate with German Saum hem; akin to sew ¹, Greek hymḗn membrane ( see hymen)

Explanation

When you sew two pieces of fabric together, the line you are sewing is the seam. Coal appears in long, linear underground deposits referred to as seams. A garment that is coming to pieces will often first tear at the seams, the weakest parts. People use this image to describe anything that has reached a point where it is simply not holding together––your car could be falling apart at the seams, or if there's been a lot of stress in your life, you could be too — and you might have to move into a seamy neighborhood.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

seam seams seamed seaming

Against seam from either hand and versus off-break and slow left-arm spin, the difference in his average is within a margin of a run, sitting between 37 and 38.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

All 40 wickets in the match fell to seam bowlers - this was the first completed Test to be played in England since 1988 where neither side opted for a single delivery of spin bowling.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026

Then you've got to factor in the seam movement and the slope, batting becomes impossible.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

Where Robinson excelled was in expert use of the helpful conditions with immaculate line and length, topped off with fingertip control to have the ball skipping off the seam.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

Holmes’s building and land were valuable to begin with, given Englewood’s continued growth, but now his property seemed the equivalent of a seam of gold ore.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

McElwee stitches together the past and present to find new meaning in their seams, a jagged line that runs through time and points toward the future.

From Salon ● Jul. 24, 2026

He considered different shapes for the container -- like a square or even a star -- but thought it best to avoid having seams and joints, so a stainless steel cylinder won the day.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

The unmoving, shallow water can’t help but grow algae in the beating sun, and since the concrete expands and contracts with shifting temperatures, any seals along the seams have struggled to remain watertight.

From Slate ● Jun. 19, 2026

The teenager found some aspects of her uniform so uncomfortable that they became painful, like the embroidered logo, seams and tag on her polo shirt, her dad says.

From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026

I want her to see that if she’s not telling me the truth, my world is going to fall apart at the seams.

From "Sparrow" by Sarah Moon

Of those 10 dismissals in 2021-22, seven were from balls pitching 6-8m from the stumps - what is regarded as a 'good' length - and nine seamed away.

From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025

Charlotte is always tightly seamed and belted, while Lisa, a filmmaker, wears bright colors and straddles the line between adventurous pop art flair and polished affluence.

From Salon ● Jun. 7, 2025

There is a kind of rigor here in the wholly invented language that the actors persuasively speak while also somehow sporting chic, seamed trousers, manicured eyebrows and trimmed beards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2024

He described the mode as nothing personal to anybody but, simply, blocking out “all distractions. The more distractions, the faster that little seamed ball comes at you.”

From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2021

Only when he chanced to put his hand on his bald scalp did he remember the seamed, ruined face that had looked back at him out of the mirror.

From "1984" by George Orwell

But he only lasted seven balls, edging a seaming delivery into the safe hands of Marnus Labuschagne at third slip.

From Barron's ● Nov. 21, 2025

Someone who could complement Perry instead of supplanting her is fellow seaming all-rounder Tahlia McGrath, who first played for Australia in 2016 but has taken a few years to fire.

From BBC ● Feb. 8, 2022

A seminal and comprehensive history; Times critic Bharati Mukherjee called Takaki’s method “extraordinary, seaming together meticulous scholarship, impassioned analysis, popular culture and personal memoir.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2021

The contoured silhouettes with intricate seaming, embroidery and couture detailing looked deceptively more expensive than their retail price.

From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2020

If seaming rolls cut into the can they are set too close, and the seaming-roll pin should be adjusted in the opposite direction from above.

From Every Step in Canning by Grace Viall Gray

Related Words

• hem
• joint
• pleat