sow
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
sows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sowed,
past participle, past
-
sown,
past participle
-
sowing
present participle
-
to scatter (seed) over land, earth, etc., for growth; plant.
-
to plant seed for.
to sow a crop.
-
to scatter seed over (land, earth, etc.) for the purpose of growth.
-
to implant, introduce, or promulgate; seek to propagate or extend; disseminate.
to sow distrust or dissension.
-
to strew or sprinkle with anything.
verb (used without object)
-
sows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
sowed,
past participle, past
-
sown,
past participle
-
sowing
present participle
noun
-
sows
plural
-
an adult female swine.
-
the adult female of various other animals, as the bear.
-
Metallurgy.
-
a large oblong mass of iron that has solidified in the common channel through which the molten metal flows to the smaller channels in which the pigs solidify.
-
the common channel itself.
-
a basin holding any of certain molten nonferrous metals to be cast.
-
noun
-
a female adult pig
-
the female of certain other animals, such as the mink
-
metallurgy
-
the channels for leading molten metal to the moulds in casting pig iron
-
iron that has solidified in these channels
-
verb
-
to scatter or place (seed, a crop, etc) in or on (a piece of ground, field, etc) so that it may grow
to sow wheat
to sow a strip of land
-
(tr) to implant or introduce
to sow a doubt in someone's mind
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
sowsimple
-
sowssimple
-
have sowedperfect
-
have sownperfect
-
has sowedperfect
-
has sownperfect
-
am sowingprogressive
-
are sowingprogressive
-
is sowingprogressive
-
have been sowingperfect progressive
-
has been sowingperfect progressive
Past
-
sowedsimple
-
had sowedperfect
-
had sownperfect
-
was sowingprogressive
-
were sowingprogressive
-
had been sowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sow1
First recorded before 900; Middle English sowen, Old English sāwan; cognate with Dutch zaaien, German säen, Old Norse sā, Gothic saian; akin to seed, Latin sēmen “seed”
Origin of sow2
First recorded before 900; Middle English soue, sou(we), Old English sugu, sū; cognate with German Sau, Old Norse sȳr, Latin sūs, Greek hûs, Tocharian B suwo; see swine
Explanation
When you plant seeds in the ground, you sow them. You can also sow things like doubts or ideas, simply by spreading them around. If your ideas (or your seeds) develop and grow, you've successfully sown them. The verb sow is pronounced completely differently from the noun sow, which means "a female pig." When you sow flower seeds, it rhymes with "go." When you admire an enormous, muddy sow in a pig pen, it rhymes with "cow." When two words are spelled the same but sound different, they're called heteronyms.
Vocabulary lists containing sow
"The Hill We Climb," by Amanda Gorman
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Dirty Words: The Language of Gardening
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Starting Your New Life: Inspiring Words from Commencement Speeches
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
See Examples For:
The knock on such megamergers is well-known: They distract management, sow years of organizational chaos, and invite regulatory scrutiny.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Well, God knows you reap what you sow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
The defence for Robinson, who has not yet entered a plea, sought to sow doubt on all of it.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
“AI hype and exuberant financial markets” could sow the seeds of instability.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
Very likely some Mrs. Grundy will observe, “I don’t believe it, boys will be boys, young men must sow their wild oats, and women must not expect miracles.”
From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott
The Scottish government says the total number of sows has reduced by about 15% since the start of the year and four producers have left the sector.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Wall Street loves an ugly portmanteau, or jamming together of two words in a way that sows confusion, followed closely by dislike.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
As with all commodities, success sows the seeds of its own destruction—even if AI hopes are fulfilled.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 17, 2026
When feed costs become unsustainable, farmers may be forced to kill or sell off the breeding cows and sows that represent the future of the food supply.
From Salon ● Apr. 8, 2026
Fifty sows with farrows were penned in each, bedded upon the earth, while the boars lay outside—fewer by far, as those well-fatted were for the suitors’ table, fine pork, sent by the swineherd every day.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
After Warren tried a third time, Warsh pivoted, pointing to how the Fed had sowed the seeds of a “huge inflation problem” that year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
It sowed the seed for the idea of a wobble board which could heighten core strength through muscle movement, training the body to learn healthy patterns which promote overall stability.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2026
Additionally, Paramount had sowed doubts about Netflix among lawmakers, regulators, Warner investors and ultimately the Warner board.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
The 2023 leadership shake-up in China’s Rocket Force, followed by the removal of other high-level leaders, sowed confusion and instability in the overall space program.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
People in Paleolithic societies had led the unsettled life of the hunter and food gatherer, reaping where nature sowed and thus at the mercy of forces that they could neither understand nor control.
From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson
Seeds of the idea for blocs within the bloc were sown decades ago.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
The seed of Stellantis’s bet on Wayve was sown on a test ride in London, when the technology wowed the carmaker’s chief technology officer, Ned Curic, with its humanlike way of edging into flowing traffic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
But the US beat heavily favored Colombia to reach the last 16, and the seeds for an American soccer boom were sown.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
But in about 1989, the seeds of a new Muffler Man era were sown.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026
She had just sown a row of radish-seed when she heard a great commotion in the Nursery and the sound of hurrying footsteps on the stairs.
From "Mary Poppins" by P. L. Travers
Major job-search platforms say they are focused on what’s phony and sowing mistrust.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 5, 2026
It’s a grim idea, that our hope is in a tool that discourages in-depth reading and a long-shot hypothetical strategy—both of which rely on technology known for sowing confusion.
From Slate ● Aug. 26, 2026
Apple and other customers squeezed suppliers during past downturns, sowing the seeds for current shortages, memory executives say.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
Government data shows the area planted with summer crops until the end of June is down by nearly 23% from the corresponding period in 2025, with rice sowing falling by a quarter.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
When spring arrived with soft breezes and meadows grown green, the villagers began sowing early peas and barley, followed by the village boys who threw stones at the hungry birds trying to eat the seed.
From "The Midwife's Apprentice" by Karen Cushman
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.
