sow

noun

\ ˈsau̇

Definition of sow

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an adult female swine also : the adult female of various other animals (such as a bear)

2a : a channel that conducts molten metal to molds

b : a mass of metal solidified in such a mold : ingot

sow

verb

\ ˈsō

sowed; sown\ ˈsōn

\ or sowed; sowing

Definition of sow (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

1 : to plant seed for growth especially by scattering

2 : to set something in motion : begin an enterprise

transitive verb

1a : 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

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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

For a fall crop, also known as a second harvest, sow seeds indoors in May or June, and follow the same directions, transplanting seedlings in June or July. — The Editors Of Organic Life, Good Housekeeping, "How To Grow Your Own Crunchy Celery," 19 Apr. 2017 Peter confiscates her scrunchie, but his ex-girlfriend Gen steals it at the same party to mess with his mind and sow seeds of discord with Lara Jean, her ex-best friend. — Ella Cerón, Teen Vogue, "Best Scrunchies to Channel Lara Jean Covey from "To All the Boys I've Loved Before"," 21 Aug. 2018 If sowing seeds directly, sow 4 seeds per inch in rows 6-8 inches apart. — Hilary Dahl, Good Housekeeping, "4 Essential Tips For Planning Your Fall Garden—And 5 Veggies You Can Still Plant In August," 3 Aug. 2017 The sow had been killed the day before, but neither the skull nor hide were salvaged. — Laurel Andrews, Anchorage Daily News, "Brown bear cub rescued after sow illegally killed near Nome," 10 May 2018 In mid-August set out broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts transplants, and in late August sow beets, carrots, radishes, spinach, lettuce and other leaf and root crops. — Neil Sperry, star-telegram, "Here’s your gardening to-do list for the second part of the summer," 11 July 2018 Refresh the bait every day or every few days, using the remote-sensing camera to reveal if feral hogs are using the trap/pen and if it's being visited by solitary boars or multi-pig sounders of adult sows with their offspring. — Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "Late winter gives Texas hunters best shot at feral hogs," 24 Jan. 2018 DeSpain says a man and woman on a rafting trip stopped to camp and encountered a grizzly sow and at least one cub. — Becky Bohrer, The Seattle Times, "Grizzly bear mauls man on Copper River rafting trip," 26 June 2018 Direct sow or seed Direct-sow bean or squash seed April through June. — Pam Peirce, SFChronicle.com, "How Bay Area gardeners can grow their own soup," 1 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

In a court order, for example, Sears sowed doubts among note buyers that the securities could be used for calculating swaps payouts, curbing market interest, people familiar with the matter said. — Andrew Scurria, WSJ, "Sears Bankruptcy Battle Tests Swaps Market," 19 Dec. 2018 Those actions could potentially sow chaos on Election Day and raise questions as to whether the vote was legitimate. — Jack Gillum And Jeff Kao, Ars Technica, "File-sharing software on state election servers could expose them to intruders," 5 Nov. 2018 Intentionally or not, the Trump administration sowed uncertainty by asking all four finalists to prepare for Monday's prime-time ceremony. — David Jackson, USA TODAY, "How a behind-the-scenes battle of Trump advisers ended with Kavanaugh as Supreme Court pick," 10 July 2018 Brexit has sown deep divisions in Labour too, with dozens of lawmakers defying the leadership in a vote last month. — Andrew Atkinson, Bloomberg.com, "Pressure Grows on May Before Key Brexit Gathering," 1 July 2018 Gaxiola said last year’s inaugural Valle Food & Wine Festival sowed the seeds for this year’s impressive chef lineup. — Michele Parente, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Thomas Keller and a galaxy of mega-star chefs to cook in San Diego, Baja," 29 June 2018 Seeds were sown for unusual spring An unusually cold, wet and endless feeling in April — with a few leftover snow showers sprinkled in — summed up the high school baseball season perfectly: Unusual. — Craig Larson, BostonGlobe.com, "The spring season got off to a soggy start, but had a brilliant finish," 28 June 2018 One of the seeds of demand had been sown in the 1990s, when doctors began overprescribing legal painkillers like OxyContin. — Fortune, "Deadly Chinese Fentanyl Is Creating a New Era of Drug Kingpins," 6 June 2018 Hackers could try to tamper with voter records and potentially sow confusion about who’s allowed to vote. — Alexa Corse, WSJ, "The Cyberthreats That Most Worry Election Officials," 18 Sep. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sow.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.