sow

1 of 2

noun

1
: an adult female swine
also : the adult female of various other animals (such as a bear)
2
a
: a channel that conducts molten metal to molds
b
: a mass of metal solidified in such a mold : ingot

sow

2 of 2

verb

sowed; sown ˈsōn How to pronounce sow (audio) or sowed; sowing

intransitive verb

1
: to plant seed for growth especially by scattering
2
: to set something in motion : begin an enterprise

transitive verb

1
a
: to scatter (seed) upon the earth for growth
broadly : plant sense 1a
b
: to strew with or as if with seed
c
: to introduce into a selected environment : implant
2
: to set in motion : foment
sow suspicion
3
: to spread abroad : disperse

Examples of sow in a Sentence

Verb Every year we sow corn. Farmers sowed the fields with corn. We'll sow in the early spring.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Galante went out to intervene and the sow redirected its attention on her. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 7 Mar. 2024 For 24 years, the critical distance and self-deprecating humility that separate comedian from character have saved him from provoking the kind of outrage his avatar so relentlessly sows. TIME, 2 Feb. 2024 That embryo is then transferred to a surrogate sow. Jen Christensen, CNN, 30 Jan. 2024 Because of that, the mature boars are solitary animals that spend most of their time looking for the next receptive sow. Will Brantley, Field & Stream, 28 Sep. 2023 Officers from Colorado Parks and Wildlife and Colorado Springs Police Department began a search for the 150-pound sow and her two cubs, and quickly located the bear, according to authorities. Gina Martinez, CBS News, 9 Oct. 2023 At the facility—a concentrated animal-feeding operation, or CAFO—pregnant pigs were confined to gestation crates, metal enclosures so small that the sows could barely lie down. Elizabeth Barber, The New Yorker, 16 Dec. 2023 The former governor doesn't shy away from those facts, but the turnabout sows doubt with some voters about his motivations. Hunter Woodall, Grace Kazarian, CBS News, 12 Dec. 2023 In the years that a sow births and nurses, the cementum layer is thin and scant, since the sow gives up so much energy and nourishment to support her cubs. Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 28 Sep. 2023
Verb
In the west, the mobilization drive has steadily sown panic and resentment in small agricultural towns and villages like Makiv, where residents said soldiers working for draft offices roam the near-empty streets searching for any remaining men. Serhiy Morgunov, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 Meanwhile, legal clashes with the mining companies have sowed tensions in indigenous communities. Megan Janetsky, Victor R. Caivano and Rodrigo Abd, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024 Succession sow seeds every 3-4 weeks for continuous blooms through autumn. Kristin Guy, Sunset Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024 Could today’s bull market in India be sowing the seeds of another scandal? Nicholas Gordon, Fortune Asia, 10 Mar. 2024 Policymakers fear the Chinese government could use the personal information to identify intelligence targets or to facilitate mass disinformation campaigns that could disrupt elections and sow other chaos. Brian Fung, CNN, 7 Mar. 2024 Newscasts have at times been, unintentionally or intentionally, a source of public misunderstandings about climate that festered into loopholes exploited by corporate campaigns seeking to sow doubt about the scientific consensus that climate change is real and human-caused. The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024 Russia's leader often makes unreliable and contradictory statements that mask and distort his positions and intentions in order to sow chaos. Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 15 Feb. 2024 Officials in Georgia have argued that those charged were involved in sowing disorder and destruction — actions that demanded a swift and forceful response. Rick Rojas, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English sowe, from Old English sugu; akin to Old English & Old High German sow, Latin sus pig, swine, hog, Greek hys

Verb

Middle English, from Old English sāwan; akin to Old High German sāwen to sow, Latin serere, Lithuanian sėti

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sow was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near sow

Cite this Entry

“Sow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sow. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sow

1 of 2 noun
: an adult female hog
also : the adult female of various other animals (as a bear)

sow

2 of 2 verb
sowed; sown ˈsōn How to pronounce sow (audio) or sowed; sowing
1
a
: to plant seed for growth especially by scattering
c
: to scatter with or as if with seed
d
: to put into a selected environment : distribute
2
: to set in motion : foment
sowing the seeds of suspicion
3
: to spread over a wide area : disperse, disseminate
sower noun

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