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

Etymology

Origin of sewing machine

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sewing machine

"Her sewing machine was there. She was in tears because it's broken now. So, well, it's a tragedy. But in my family everyone is alive and for that I thank God," he said.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

Student, Emma Harrow, borrowed a sewing machine to teach herself to make alterations to clothes.

From BBC ● Jun. 4, 2026

Still, sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel is not always visible from behind a classroom sewing machine.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 11, 2026

When Gong demanded a feed dog—a crucial part of a sewing machine that controls stitch size by regulating the speed of fabric moving to the needle—from a seamstress who worked with Shin, she curtly refused.

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