sew

¹ 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 ² 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 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 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

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

Example Sentences

"Her favorite colors, without a doubt, I would say are purple and burgundy," the 63-year-old pattern-maker and tailor told AFP amid her sewing machines and a mannequin on which she assembles the presidential wardrobe.

From Barron's

There were only so many T-shirts his 700 workers could sew.

From The Wall Street Journal

Two years ago, she asked me to use my sewing machine to shore up some of the broken stitching, which I did.

From The Wall Street Journal

In Wisbech, Mia, who's 51, has been meticulously sewing her own faithful replica for the last nine and a half years.

From BBC

Lee’s mom sewed children’s clothes at a textile plant before dying of complications from a hysterectomy at 35 when Lee was 16.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• embroider
• fasten
• stitch
• tailor