sewing machine

American  

noun

• sewing machines
  plural

1. any of various foot-operated or electric machines for sewing or making stitches, ranging from machines with a shuttle for a spool of thread and a needle for sewing garments to industrial machines for sewing leather, book pages together, etc.

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sewing machine British  

noun

1. any machine designed to sew material. It is now usually driven by electric motor but is sometimes operated by a foot treadle or by hand

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• sewing machines
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of sewing machine

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sewing machine

My mother made all our clothes on a Singer sewing machine for years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

Pages are sewn together with thread, either by hand or with a Smyth sewing machine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 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

During his first year in the factory, he proved it to himself and to his coworkers in a confrontation with another sewing machine repairman.

From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden

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