sown
Americanverb
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Explanation
When a farmer's fields are sown, it means that she's planted seeds in them. If you sow something, you scatter seeds on it or plant tiny seedlings in it. The adjective sown is the past participle of sow, so you could say, "The field behind the school was sown with wildflower seeds," or "There were so many seeds that couldn't be sown this year because of the drought." The word comes from the Old English sāwan, "to scatter seed upon the ground."
Vocabulary lists containing sown
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.
Mr. Nayler develops these civilizational portrayals in a story skillfully sown with dramatic surprises.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026
The Iranians also had influence mines adapted to the Gulf's shallow waters, which are sown on the seabed and explode when a large ship is detected overhead, he said.
From Barron's • Mar. 11, 2026
This time the divisions were sown by hate speech reforms introduced by the centre-left Labor government after the Bondi Beach attack.
From BBC • Feb. 7, 2026
Yet so much of the media coverage around Kennedy, especially lately, has focused more on his personality and lurid life history rather than the chaos and destruction he has sown.
From Salon • Nov. 29, 2025
If this is your reaction, you are a victim of the confusion sown by the sticklers.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
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.
