- 1a line along which two edges of cloth, etc. are joined or sewn together a shoulder seam Wordfindersewbaste, bind, embroidery, hem, lining, seam, sew, stitch, tack, thread Oxford Collocations Dictionary verb + seamsew, stitch, press, … phrasesbe bursting at the seams, come apart at the seams, fall apart at the seams, … See full entry
- 2a thin layer of coal or other material, between layers of rock under the ground They struck a rich seam of iron ore. (figurative) The book is a rich seam of information. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivecoal, rich, narrow, … verb + seamexploit, mine See full entry
- 3a line where two edges meet, for example the edges of wooden boards Light was spilling in through the seams of the door. Word OriginOld English sēam, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zoom and German Saum.Extra examples She sewed the seam with small neat stitches. The festival exploits a rich seam of talent in the local area. The film is bursting at the seams with good performances. Their marriage was coming apart at the seams. They’re still mining a rich seam of high-grade coal. This city is bursting at the seams with would-be actors. Finish the edges before sewing the shoulder seam. I only had the shoes for a month before they started to fall apart at the seams.Idioms
(informal) to be very full, especially of people
(informal) to be going very badly wrong and likely to stop functioning completely She was falling apart at the seams, spending most of her time in tears. His little world fell apart at the seams.
to start to come apart or to fail Support for the leader was fraying at the edges.
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