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
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
- 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
- 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.
- Eyeglasses were invented in Italy around 1280 to 1290, so people over 40 could keep reading and sewing.
- I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and have laid my horn in the dust.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «sew» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.