sew

Word family

sew /səʊ $ soʊ/ S3 verb (past tensepst sewed, past participlepp sewn /səʊn $ soʊn/ or sewed) [intransitiveI, transitiveT] → sow, soh, so

1 DLHto use a needle and thread to make or repair clothes or to fasten something such as a button to them 縫，縫紉；縫制；縫補

I learned to sew at school.

我在學校學會了縫紉。

sew something on something

Can you sew a patch on my jeans?

你能幫我在牛仔褲上打個補丁嗎？

sew something together

She sewed the two sides together.

她把兩邊縫了起來。

2 sew something ↔ up phrasal verbphr v

a) DLHto close or repair something by sewing it 縫合；縫補

Could you sew up this hole in my trousers?

你能補好我褲子上的這個洞嗎？

b) informalFINISH DOING something to finish a business agreement or plan and get the result you want 非正式】順利完成〔商業協議或計劃〕；辦妥

The deal should be sewn up in a week.

這筆買賣一星期内應該能夠成交。

n Grammar

Sew up is usually passive in this meaning.

c) CONTROL have something sewn up to have gained control over a situation so that you are sure to win or get what you want 對某事有絕對把握

It looks like the Democrats have the election sewn up.

看來這次選舉民主黨赢定了。

Examples from the Corpus

sew up• In the second half, Swindon should have sewn it up.• Will I have to sew my children up in goose grease combinations?• But Zeus rescued her unborn child, sewed it up in his own thigh, and brought it forth afterwards.• The Norfolk Constabulary in collaboration with the Doberman Security Service had sewn Bacton up tighter.

have something sewn up• IBM had the market for electric typewriters sewn up.• For the lawyers have it all sewn up.• The deal between the wholesaler and manufacturer will have been sewn up only minutes before Sanjay accepted his orders.• To have lost a game against the local rivals that should have been sewn up was bad enough.

Examples from the Corpus

sew• I went back to my sewing.• Granted, any skilled practitioner could make a set of numbers sew a quilt that could cover an airplane hangar.• More and more women work and have less time to sew and do crafts.• She learned to sew and made maternity smocks he tried to admire.• I washed out a pair of tights and sewed on a button.• One afternoon I had seen him painfully sewing on a shirt-button.• Where did you learn to sew so well?• Construction: shingle construction - sections of fibre are sewn to the outer and liner and overlaid to eliminate any cold spots.

From Longman Business Dictionary