From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishstitchstitch1 /stɪtʃ/ ●○○ noun 1 sewing [countable]DLH a short piece of thread that has been sewn into a piece of cloth, or the action of the thread going into and out of the cloth2 for wound [countable]MH a piece of special thread which has been used to sew the edges of a wound together He had to have ten stitches in his head.3 pain [countable usually singular]MHPAIN a sharp pain in the side of your body, which you can get by running or laughing a lot4 with wool [countable]DCDLH a small circle of wool that is formed around a needle when you are knittingdrop a stitch (=lose a stitch because the wool has come off the needle)5 style [countable, uncountable]DLH a particular way of sewing or knitting that makes a particular pattern Purl and plain are the two main stitches in knitting. 6 → not have a stitch on7 → in stitches8 → a stitch in time (saves nine)
Examples from the Corpus
stitch• Sandstrom needed 10 stitches to close a cut on his forehead.• After jogging about a mile, I suddenly got a stitch in my side.• She showed me how to cover the cloth with an embroidery stitch which finally created a small, neat, round button.• Picture by Brendan O'Sullivan Few of us get through childhood without a broken bone or a few stitches.• This allowed four stitches between hedgehogs if they were knitted as a band or series of bands on a sweater.• After the last stitch of the row, bring the needle up through the stitch above.• Most start with a welt and then change to the main stitch and there may even be some shaping to do.• The seam of the shirt was straight and the stitches tight and regular.• The Toronto Sun reported that she received two stitches, but neither the Rangers nor the hospital would confirm that.drop a stitch• But I drop stitches, I find.• Tuck stitch has a tendency to drop stitches and the tuck brushes are there to prevent this.stitchstitch2 verb [transitive] DHFASTEN/DO UPto sew two pieces of cloth together, or to sew a decoration onto a piece of cloth Mary is stitching a bedspread.stitch something onto/across something The jersey has his name stitched across the back. → stitch something ↔ together → stitch somebody/something ↔ up→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
stitch• Nick's wounds were decoratively stitched.• Considering the arduous nature of their work, these require darning and stitching all too often.• Finally I used five centimetres of narrow lace which I gathered and stitched around the neck to form a collar.• Repetitive tasks, whether sorting coupons, stitching fabric or entering data, wear most workers toward early retirement.• Instead of stitching the bora along the horizontal, he had stitched it along the vertical.stitch something onto/across something• He was given a baseball jersey with his name stitched across the back.Origin stitch1 Old English stice “prick” 