sow

¹ American  

[soh] / soʊ /

verb (used with object)

sowed, sown, sowed, sowing

1. to scatter (seed) over land, earth, etc., for growth; plant.

2. to plant seed for.

   to sow a crop.

3. to scatter seed over (land, earth, etc.) for the purpose of growth.

4. to implant, introduce, or promulgate; seek to propagate or extend; disseminate.

   to sow distrust or dissension.

   Synonyms:

   circulate, spread, propagate, inject

5. to strew or sprinkle with anything.

---

verb (used without object)

sowed, sown, sowed, sowing

1. to sow seed, as for the production of a crop.

sow ² American  

[sou] / saʊ /

noun

1. an adult female swine.

2. the adult female of various other animals, as the bear.

3. Metallurgy.

   1. 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.

   2. the common channel itself.

   3. a basin holding any of certain molten nonferrous metals to be cast.

---

sow ¹ British  

/ saʊ /

noun

1. a female adult pig

2. the female of certain other animals, such as the mink

3. metallurgy

   1. the channels for leading molten metal to the moulds in casting pig iron

   2. iron that has solidified in these channels

---

sow ² British  

/ səʊ /

verb

1. 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

2. (tr) to implant or introduce

   to sow a doubt in someone's mind

---

sow Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing sow

• can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear

---

Other Word Forms

• sowable adjective
• sower noun
• sowlike adjective
• unsowed adjective

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; swine

Example Sentences

The government is also looking at ending the use of "confinement systems" in farming including caged hens and pig farrowing crates, which are used to contain sows during birth and nursing.

From BBC

Economists hope some of this capital will go into research and development, juicing Germany’s productivity growth and seeding startups and new exports—just as U.S. government money helped to sow the seeds of Silicon Valley.

From The Wall Street Journal

A special mix of seeds from the MSB are being sown to help restore the rare chalk grasslands there.

From BBC

Andrew Ross Sorkin’s “1929” recounts how failures in political leadership—a blend of willful ignorance and shortsighted greed—can sow economic chaos.

From The Wall Street Journal

They sowed financial imbalances that later demanded emergency rescues.

From Barron's

Related Words

• grow
• propagate
• scatter