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Synonyms

sew

1 American  
[soh] / soʊ /

verb (used with object)

sewed, sewn, sewed, sewing

  1. to join or attach by stitches.

  2. to make, repair, etc., (a garment) by such means.

  3. to enclose or secure with stitches.

    to sew flour in a bag.

  4. to close (a hole, wound, etc.) by means of stitches (usually followed byup ).

verb (used without object)

sewed, sewn, sewed, sewing

  1. to work with a needle and thread or with a sewing machine.

verb phrase

  1. sew up

    1. Informal. to get or have a monopoly of; control exclusively.

    2. Informal. to complete or conclude (arrangements, negotiations, etc.) successfully.

      They were about to sew up the deal when the argument started.

    3. to gain or be assured of.

      He tried to sew up as many votes as possible before the convention.
sew 2 American  
[soo] / su /

verb (used with object)

sewed, sewing

  1. to ground (a vessel) at low tide (sometimes followed by byup ).

verb (used without object)

sewed, sewing

  1. (of a vessel) to be grounded at low tide.

noun

  1. the amount of additional water necessary to float a grounded vessel.

sew British  
/ səʊ /

verb

  1. to join or decorate (pieces of fabric, etc) by means of a thread repeatedly passed through with a needle or similar implement

  2. (tr; often foll by on or up) to attach, fasten, or close by sewing

  3. (tr) to make (a garment, etc) by sewing

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • sewable adjective

Etymology

Origin of sew1

First recorded before 900; Middle English seuen, souen, Old English siw(i)an, siowan; cognate with Old High German siuwan, Old Norse sauma, Gothic siujan; akin to Sanskrit sī́vyati “(he) sews,” Latin suere; seam

Origin of sew2

First recorded in 1580–90; from Middle French sewer, shortening of essewer, from unattested Vulgar Latin exaquāre, equivalent to Latin ex- “out of, from, thoroughly” + verb derivative of aqua “water”; sewer 1

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.

Gran was sewing near the fire and didn’t stop her work when I entered, but greeted me with a smile and a rhyme.

From Literature

“I never thought about being an actress. I only thought about sewing,” she says with an endearing smile.

From Los Angeles Times

"I really want to celebrate the fact that there are so many women around the world who are working so humbly on domestic skills ... like sewing, hand knitting," she said.

From Barron's

Alavi was given a range of equipment including a sewing machine, fabric and cash for a solar panel -- essential in a country where power cuts are commonplace.

From Barron's

Now, I often walk into my upstairs sewing room—my woman cave, far from Steve’s basement workshop—and get lost in it.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.