English Reference

Word

sewing

US/ˈsoʊɪŋ/

UK/sˈəʊɪŋ/

Definitions

01the activity

A2

n. the work or hobby of making and fixing things with a needle and thread.

n. the activity or occupation of a person who sews, whether as a manual skill or a domestic task.

“My grandmother taught me sewing when I was a young child.”

“She dedicated her Saturday afternoons to sewing, finding the repetitive motion of the needle both productive and therapeutic.”

Usage

Often used as an uncountable noun to describe the general craft or hobby.

Synonyms

needleworkstitching

02items being worked on

B1

n. the clothes or fabric that you are currently working on.

n. articles or materials that are in the process of being sewn or have been sewn.

“She left her sewing on the chair while she went to answer the door.”

“The tailor gathered his sewing and placed it neatly in the basket before closing the shop for the evening.”

Synonyms

Etymology

From sew + -ing.

From Middle English sewinge, seuinge, seuwinge (“sewing”), equivalent to sew + -ing.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Word family

sewVerbsewerNounsewingNoun

This entry

Level
A2 · Elementary
Frequency
Frequent
Updated

Scan code

englishreference.com/q/sewing

English Reference