SEWING

Pronunciation (US):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does sewing mean? 

• SEWING (noun)
  The noun SEWING has 2 senses:

1. joining or attaching by stitches

2. needlework on which you are working with needle and thread

  Familiarity information: SEWING used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• SEWING (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Joining or attaching by stitches

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

sewing; stitching

Hypernyms ("sewing" is a kind of...):

handicraft (a craft that requires skillful hands)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sewing"):

blind stitching (stitching that is not easily seen or noticed)

suturing (surgical joining of two surfaces)

Derivation:

sew (fasten by sewing; do needlework)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Needlework on which you are working with needle and thread

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

sewing; stitchery

Context example:

she put her sewing back in the basket

Hypernyms ("sewing" is a kind of...):

needlecraft; needlework (a creation created or assembled by needle and thread)

Domain member category:

needle (prick with a needle)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "sewing"):

applique (a decorative design made of one material sewn over another)

binding (strip sewn over or along an edge for reinforcement or decoration)

gather; gathering (sewing consisting of small folds or puckers made by pulling tight a thread in a line of stitching)

darn; mend; patch (sewing that repairs a worn or torn hole (especially in a garment))

patchwork (sewing consisting of pieces of different materials sewn together in a pattern)

stitch (a link or loop or knot made by an implement in knitting, crocheting, embroidery, or sewing)

Derivation:

sew (create (clothes) with cloth)

 Context examples 

"Has anybody got anything to tell? It's been such a dismal day I'm really dying for some amusement," said Meg, as they sat sewing together that evening.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Without waiting for the boy’s acceptance, the captain turned to the sailor who had just finished the gruesome task of sewing up the corpse.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

Knitting, sewing, reading, writing, ciphering, will be all you will have to teach.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

Nobody even really knows if Plato meant for his writings to be taken as documentation of the existence of the city or if he was just sewing a yarn to serve as a warning against the dangers of excess, but that hasn’t stopped plenty of people from searching for Atlantis.

(Researchers Claim to Have Found Mythical City of Atlantis in Spain, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

"May we, Mother?" asked Meg, turning to Mrs. March, who sat sewing in what they called 'Marmee's corner'.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Mrs. Reed and I were left alone: some minutes passed in silence; she was sewing, I was watching her.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

I had time to notice that the pockets of the dead man had been emptied on the deck, and that his body and his grin had been wrapped from view in canvas, the folds of which the sailor, Johansen, was sewing together with coarse white twine, shoving the needle through with a leather contrivance fitted on the palm of his hand.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

It was uninteresting sewing, but tonight no one grumbled.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Eliza would sit half the day sewing, reading, or writing, and scarcely utter a word either to me or her sister.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

She started when spoken to, blushed when looked at, was very quiet, and sat over her sewing, with a timid, troubled look on her face.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)