# sew

> English word · Verb · IPA /səʊ/ · frequency rank #16,124

## Definitions
1. To use a needle to pass thread repeatedly through (pieces of fabric) in order to join them together.
2. To use a needle to pass thread repeatedly through pieces of fabric in order to join them together.
3. Followed by into: to enclose by sewing.

## Etymology
From Middle English sewen, seowen, sowen, from Old English siwian, seowian, seowan (“to sew, mend, patch, knit together, link, unite”), from Proto-Germanic *siwjaną (“to sew”), from Proto-Indo-European *syewh₁- (“to sew”). Cognate with Scots sew, North Frisian saie, sei, Saterland Frisian säie, Danish sy, Swedish sy, and, more distantly, Polish szyć, Russian шить (šitʹ), Latin suō, Sanskrit सीव्यति (sī́vyati). Related to seam.

## Easily confused with
- **so** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-so)
- **SI** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-si)
- **SS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-ss)
- **SP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sp)
- **su** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-su)
- **sf** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sf)
- **sh** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sh)
- **SM** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sm)
- **SW** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sw)
- **SL** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sl)
- **SG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sg)
- **SK** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sk)
- **SV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sv)
- **SJ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sj)
- **Sy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sy)
- **she** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-she)
- **six** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-six)
- **son** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-son)
- **sex** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sex)
- **sir** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/sew-vs-sir)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/sew