Sew

How to spell sew

3 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce sew

What does sew mean?

1. verbTo join or repair fabric using a needle and thread, or with a sewing machine.

Sew in a sentence

• She learned to sew a hem before altering the curtains.

• The tailor will sew a new button onto the jacket.

Where does sew come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

This word comes from the Old English siwian, meaning 'to stitch, join, or fasten with thread', which traces back to a Proto-Germanic root siwjan and ultimately to an ancient Indo-European base syu meaning 'to bind or stitch together'. The same distant root gave Latin suere 'to sew', which lies behind English words like 'suture' (a surgical stitch) and 'couture' (high fashion needlework). The spelling kept its old -ew ending even though it is pronounced exactly like 'so' and like one sense of 'sow', and that mismatch between sound and spelling is the entire trap: the eye expects 'soe' or 'so', but the historic w survives. English has used sew for the act of working a needle and thread for well over a thousand years.

How the word is built

• sew (single Old English root meaning to stitch; no prefix or suffix)

Words that sound like sew

They sound the same but mean different things, so the meaning decides which spelling to write.

• so: To such a great extent or degree.
• sow: To scatter or plant seed in soil so that it will grow.