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# sew

«sew» in Mova's school dictionary: **to join cloth or attach things like buttons with a needle…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#m1)

2) To sew is to make or mend clothes with a needle or a sewing machine. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#m2)

3) To sew up something is to finish or make sure of it (informal). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#m3)

### 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 →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#x1)
- He sews 5 buttons on each shirt. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#x2)
- Each bag needs 2 m of cloth to sew. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#x3)
- How many shirts can she sew? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#x4)
- Grandma taught me to sew on a button. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#x5)
- We sewed felt puppets in class. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#x6)
- Keep your needles in a pincushion when you sew. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#x7)
- Mum sewed up the hole in my sock. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#x8)
- He sewed them on his coat. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/#x9)

### 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.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/243-animal-builders-termite-mounds-weaver-birds-and-other-nest-makers/13/)
- [Weaver ants sew leaves into nests, holding their own larvae like glue sticks that spin silk.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/304-ants-of-the-world-weaver-ants-bullet-ants-honeypot-ants-and-trap-jaw-ants/2/)
- [A loose eye or button on a soft toy is a choking hazard; an adult should sew it on or remove it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/302-toys-and-board-games/11/)
- [Eyeglasses were invented in Italy around 1280 to 1290, so people over 40 could keep reading and sewing.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/history/62-everyday-inventions-pots-boats-wheels-horses-clocks-and-glasses/22/)
- [I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin, and have laid my horn in the dust.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/ketuvim/jps/JOB.419/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «sew» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sew/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.