sewing

[soh-ing] /ˈsoʊ ɪŋ/
noun
1.
the act or work of one who sews.
2.
something sewn or to be sewn.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English; see sew1, -ing1

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 sewing
  • His firm has devised a solar-powered sewing machine, for example.
  • One entrepreneur tried to swap his sewing machines for handsets.
  • She snipped the knotted line with her sewing shears and they began to unwrap the newspaper.
  • The plan was for her to babysit in the afternoon, then come home to start sewing her graduation dress.
  • Orderly chaos reigns on the factory floor, a blur of flying hands and whirring sewing machines.
  • She now writes hobby-based articles on cooking, gardening, sewing and running.
  • In the hierarchy of jobs in poor countries, sweltering at a sewing machine isn't the bottom.
  • She found a job sewing blue jeans in one of the dozens of clothing factories here.
  • It is sewing tags into all of its jeans urging customers to wash less and use only cold water.
British Dictionary definitions for sewing

sewing

/ˈsəʊɪŋ/
noun
1.
  1. a piece of cloth, etc, that is sewn or to be sewn
  2. (as modifier): sewing basket

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 sewing
n.

late 13c., "action of sewing;" c.1400, "sewn work," verbal noun from sew (v.). Sewing machine is attested from 1847.

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.