- 1 [intransitive, transitive] to use a needle and thread to make stitches in cloth My mother taught me how to sew. to sew by hand/machine sew something to sew a seam Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbneatly, together, up, … prepositioninto, onto See full entry
- 2 [transitive] to make, repair or attach something using a needle and thread sew something She sews all her own clothes. sew something on Can you sew a button on for me? Surgeons were able to sew the finger back on. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbneatly, together, up, … prepositioninto, onto See full entry Word OriginOld English siwan, of Germanic origin, from an Indo-European root shared by Latin suere and Greek suein. Wordfindersewbaste, bind, embroidery, hem, lining, seam, sew, stitch, tack, threadExtra examples He sewed the patch onto the back of his jeans. He sewed up the tear with a needle and thread. I sewed on three buttons. The jewel was sewn into the lining of his coat. The squares of fabric were all sewn neatly together. Phrasal Verbssew up
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BrE BrE//səʊ//; NAmE NAmE//soʊ//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they sew BrE BrE//səʊ//; NAmE NAmE//soʊ//
he / she / it sews BrE BrE//səʊz//; NAmE NAmE//soʊz//
past simple sewed BrE BrE//səʊd//; NAmE NAmE//soʊd//
past participle sewed BrE BrE//səʊd//; NAmE NAmE//soʊd//
past participle sewn BrE BrE//səʊn//; NAmE NAmE//soʊn//
-ing form sewing BrE BrE//ˈsəʊɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈsoʊɪŋ//
Check pronunciation: sew
