sew
part of speech
verb (sew, sews, sewed, sewn or sewed, sewing)
meaning for a pupil
1) To sew is to join cloth or attach things like buttons with a needle and thread. tree →
2) To sew is to make or mend clothes with a needle or a sewing machine. tree →
3) To sew up something is to finish or make sure of it (informal). tree →
sense in the lessons
Interpretation: Adam and Eve sewing fig leaves is read as the first clothes, and later God made them better garments of skin. In the primary lessons: making things: shirts sewn per day, buttons sewn on, cloth used; in design and technology lessons: running stitch, sewing a puppet or a bag; in safety: be careful with sharp needles and scissors; phrases: «sew on a button», «sew up a hole», «sewing machine»
examples
- And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles. (Torah GEN.3.7, JPS 1917) tree →
- I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and have laid my horn in the dust. (Writings JOB.16.15, JPS 1917) tree →
- A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; (Writings ECC.3.7, JPS 1917) tree →
- and say: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Woe to the women that sew cushions upon all elbows, and make pads for the head of persons of every stature to hunt souls! (Prophets EZK.13.18, JPS 1917) tree →
- She sews 4 dresses a week. tree →
- He sews 5 buttons on each shirt. tree →
- Each bag needs 2 m of cloth to sew. tree →
- How many shirts can she sew? tree →
- Grandma taught me to sew on a button. tree →
- We sewed felt puppets in class. tree →
- Keep your needles in a pincushion when you sew. tree →
- Mum sewed up the hole in my sock. tree →
- He sewed them on his coat. tree →
note
A rate of work: things per day × days; cloth ÷ cloth per thing. Homophones: sew (with a needle), so, and sow (plant seeds) sound the same. Past: sewed; past participle: sewn.
In the corpora
- I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and have laid my horn in the dust.
- A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
- The tailorbird pokes holes in leaves and pulls plant fibres or spider silk through them to sew a leaf cup round its nest.
- Weaver ants sew leaves into nests, holding their own larvae like glue sticks that spin silk.
- A loose eye or button on a soft toy is a choking hazard; an adult should sew it on or remove it.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «sew» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.