sew1

[soh] /soʊ/
verb (used with object), sewed, sewn or sewed, sewing.
1.
to join or attach by stitches.
2.
to make, repair, etc., (a garment) by such means.
3.
to enclose or secure with stitches:
to sew flour in a bag.
4.
to close (a hole, wound, etc.) by means of stitches (usually followed by up).
verb (used without object), sewed, sewn or sewed, sewing.
5.
to work with a needle and thread or with a sewing machine.
Verb phrases
6.
sew up,
  1. Informal. to get or have a monopoly of; control exclusively.
  2. Informal. to complete or conclude (arrangements, negotiations, etc.) successfully:
    They were about to sew up the deal when the argument started.
  3. to gain or be assured of:
    He tried to sew up as many votes as possible before the convention.
Origin
before 900; Middle English sewen, Old English siw(i)an; cognate with Old High German siuwan, Gothic siujan, Latin suere (see suture); akin to seam
Related forms
sewable, adjective, noun

sew2

[soo] /su/
verb (used with object), sewed, sewing.
1.
to ground (a vessel) at low tide (sometimes fol by up).
verb (used without object), sewed, sewing.
2.
(of a vessel) to be grounded at low tide.
noun
3.
the amount of additional water necessary to float a grounded vessel.
Origin
1505-15; < Middle French sewer, aphetic variant of essewer < Vulgar Latin *exaquāre, equivalent to Latin ex- ex-1 + aqu(a) water + -āre infinitive suffix
Examples from the web for sew
  • They might have been used to sew pieces of clothing to keep these ancient people warm.
  • If you can sew your clothing, you could make much better insulating clothing, much better tent structures to shelter.
  • To learn about the clothing of the period, you research it, then sew and wear it yourself.
  • If there is enough healthy large intestine left, your surgeon will sew or staple the healthy ends back together.
  • No sewing necessary, since not all the students knew how to sew.
  • sew the flannel pieces and cotton knit pieces together around the perimeter of the diaper.
  • Affluent quilt-makers sought the finest of these calicoes and chintzes to sew into lavish bedcovers.
  • sew up the opened seams, so that the cord comes out one end of the opening.
  • Learning how to fix a car or sew curtains is something useful to many people.
  • They forgot how to make bone tools, catch fish and sew skins into clothes.
British Dictionary definitions for sew

sew

/səʊ/
verb sews, sewing, sewed, sewn, sewed
1.
to join or decorate (pieces of fabric, etc) by means of a thread repeatedly passed through with a needle or similar implement
2.
(transitive; often foll by on or up) to attach, fasten, or close by sewing
3.
(transitive) to make (a garment, etc) by sewing
See also sew up
Word Origin
Old English sēowan; related to Old Norse sӯja, Gothic siujan, Old High German siuwen, Latin suere to sew, Sanskrit sīvjati he sews
Word Origin and History for sew
v.

Old English siwian "to stitch, sew, mend, patch, knit together," earlier siowian, from Proto-Germanic *siwjanan (cf. Old Norse syja, Swedish sy, Danish sye, Old Frisian sia, Old High German siuwan, Gothic siujan "to sew"), from PIE root *syu- "to bind, sew" (cf. Sanskrit sivyati "sews," sutram "thread, string;" Greek hymen "thin skin, membrane," hymnos "song;" Latin suere "to sew, sew together;" Old Church Slavonic šijo "to sew," šivu "seam;" Lettish siuviu, siuti "to sew," siuvikis "tailor;" Russian švec "tailor"). Related: Sewed; sewing. To sew (something) up "bring it to a conclusion" is a figurative use attested by 1904.