What does sow mean?

Definitions for sow
soʊsow

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word sow.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. sowverb

    an adult female hog

  2. sow, seedverb

    place (seeds) in or on the ground for future growth

    "She sowed sunflower seeds"

  3. sowverb

    introduce into an environment

    "sow suspicion or beliefs"

  4. inseminate, sow, sow inverb

    place seeds in or on (the ground)

    "sow the ground with sunflower seeds"

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Sownoun

    Etymology: sugn , Saxon; soeg, souwe, Dutch

    Boars have great fangs, sows much less. Francis Bacon, Nat. Hist.

    A sow beneath an oak shall lye along,
    And white herself, and white her thirty young. Dryden.

    For which they scorn and hate them worse
    Than dogs and cats do sow gelders. Hudibras.

    The sow gelder’s horn has something musical in it, but this is seldom heard. Joseph Addison, Spectator.

    And was’t thou fain
    To hovel thee with swine, and rogues forlorn,
    In short and musty straw? William Shakespeare, King Lear.

  2. To Sowverb

    part. pass. sown.

    Like was not to be found,
    Save in that soil where all good things did grow,
    And freely sprung out of the fruitful ground
    As incorrupted nature did them sow. Fairy Queen.

    From Ireland come I with my strength,
    And reap the harvest which that rascal sow’d. William Shakespeare, H. VI.

    I sow my law in you, and it shall bring fruit in you. 2 Esdr.

    Many plants, which grow in the hotter countries, being set in the colder, will, being sown of seeds late in the Spring, come up and abide most part of the Summer. Francis Bacon.

    The intellectual faculty is a goodly field, capable of great improvement; and it is the worst husbandry in the world to sow it with trifles or impertinencies. Matthew Hale, Origin of Mankind.

    When to turn
    The fruitful soil, and when to sow the corn,
    I sing, Mecænas. John Dryden, Georg.

    The proud mother views her precious brood,
    And happier branches, which she never sow’d. Dryden.

    Frowardness is in his heart: he deviseth mischief continually, he soweth discord. Prov. vi. 14.

    To sow a jangling noise of words unknown. John Milton.

    Since then they stand secur’d by being join’d:
    It were worthy a king’s head, to sow division,
    And seeds of jealousy, to loose those bonds. Nicholas Rowe.

    Born to afflict my Marcia’s family,
    And sow dissention in the hearts of brothers. Joseph Addison, Cato.

    He shall give the rain of thy seed, that thou shalt sow the ground withal. Is. xxx. 23.

    He sow’d with stars the heav’n thick as a field. John Milton.

    Morn new sow’d the earth with orient pearl. John Milton.

  3. To Sowverb

    For sew.

    Some tree, whose broad smooth leaves together sow’d,
    And girded on, may cover round. John Milton.

  4. To SOWverb

    To scatter seed in order to a harvest.

    Etymology: saian, Gothick; sawan , Saxon; saeyen, Dutch.

    The one belongeth unto them that seek, the other unto them that have found happiness: they that pray do but yet sow, they that give thanks declare they have reaped. Richard Hooker.

    The vintage shall reach unto the sowing time. Lev. xxvi. 5.

    They that sow in tears, shall reap in joy. Ps. cxxvi. 5.

    He that soweth to his flesh, shall reap corruption; but he that soweth to the spirit, shall reap life everlasting. Gal. vi. 8.

    Sow to yourselves in righteousness, and reap in mercy. Hos.

ChatGPT

  1. sow

    1) As a verb, "sow" means to plant seeds in the ground with the intention of growing crops or plants. It can also metaphorically mean to initiate or propagate something (idea, actions) that will grow or develop over time. 2) As a noun, a "sow" refers to a female adult pig.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Sowverb

    to sew. See Sew

  2. Sownoun

    the female of swine, or of the hog kind

  3. Sownoun

    a sow bug

  4. Sownoun

    a channel or runner which receives the rows of molds in the pig bed

  5. Sownoun

    the bar of metal which remains in such a runner

  6. Sownoun

    a mass of solidified metal in a furnace hearth; a salamander

  7. Sownoun

    a kind of covered shed, formerly used by besiegers in filling up and passing the ditch of a besieged place, sapping and mining the wall, or the like

  8. Sowverb

    to scatter, as seed, upon the earth; to plant by strewing; as, to sow wheat. Also used figuratively: To spread abroad; to propagate

  9. Sowverb

    to scatter seed upon, in, or over; to supply or stock, as land, with seeds. Also used figuratively: To scatter over; to besprinkle

  10. Sowverb

    to scatter seed for growth and the production of a crop; -- literally or figuratively

  11. Etymology: [OE. sowen, sawen, AS. swan; akin to OFries. sa, D. zaaijen, OS. & HG. sjan, G. sen, Icel. s, Sw. s, Dan. saae, Goth. saian, Lith. sti, Russ. sieiate, L. serere, sevi. Cf. Saturday, Season, Seed, Seminary.]

Wikidata

  1. Sow

    Sow is the musical project of Anna Wildsmith. Raymond Watts, for a time Wildsmith's boyfriend, was also heavily involved in the production of the major releases.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Sow

    sow, n. a female pig: the metal solidified in parallel grooves or pigs, the iron of these being pig-iron: a movable shed for protecting the men using a battering-ram.—ns. Sow′back, a low ridge of sand or gravel; Sow′-bread, a genus of plants, allied to the primrose, natives of the south of Europe, the tubers of which are eaten by swine; Sow′-bug, an air-breathing oniscoid isopod, a pill-bug, slater.—adj. Sow′-drunk (prov.), beastly drunk.—ns. Sow′-geld′er, one who spays sows; Sow′-this′tle, a genus of plants, the tender tops of which are used in the north of Europe as greens. [A.S. , sugu; Ger. sau, Ice. sýr; L. sus, Gr. hys.]

  2. Sow

    sō, v.t. to scatter seed that it may grow: to plant by strewing: to scatter seed over: to spread, disseminate.—v.i. to scatter seed for growth:—pa.p. sown and sowed.—ns. Sow′er; Sow′ing; Sow′ing-machine′, a hand or horse-power seed-planting machine: a broadcast sower. [A.S. sáwan; Ger. säen, Ice. , Goth. saian.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. sow

    The receptacle into which the molten iron is poured in a gun-foundry. The liquid iron poured from it is termed pig, whence the term pig-ballast.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer

  1. sow

    A kind of covered shed, formerly used by besiegers in filling up and passing the ditch of a besieged place, sapping or mining the wall, and the like. It had its name from its being used for rooting up the earth like swine, or because the soldiers therein were like pigs under a sow.

Editors Contribution

  1. sow

    To place a seed, plant or shrub in a form of earth or compost.

    The farmer sowed his vegetables in the fields with love.


    Submitted by MaryC on January 28, 2020  


  2. sow

    An adult female pig.

    The sow gave birth to two piglets.


    Submitted by MaryC on February 2, 2020  

Suggested Resources

  1. SOW

    What does SOW stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the SOW acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. SOW

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Sow is ranked #14920 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Sow surname appeared 1,984 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 would have the surname Sow.

    92.3% or 1,832 total occurrences were Black.
    2.5% or 50 total occurrences were Asian.
    2% or 41 total occurrences were White.
    1.6% or 32 total occurrences were of two or more races.

Matched Categories

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of sow in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of sow in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of sow in a Sentence

  1. Adam Talbot:

    Justice Moore couched his order in a desire to create clarity, but its only effect has been to sow confusion.

  2. Unknown:

    Lord, make me an instrument of your peace where there is hatred, let me sow love where there is injury, pardon where there is doubt, faith where there is despair, hope where there is darkness, light and where there is sadness, joy.

  3. James Clapper:

    The first objective of The Russians was to sow doubt, discord and discontent in this country, and they've succeeded to it fairly well -- capitalizing and exploiting the polarization and divisiveness in this country, secondarily, of course, was to do all they could to damage Hillary Clinton's candidacy and to help, when he became serious as Donald Trump, Donald Trump.

  4. Hillary Clinton:

    I'm against large-scale raids that tear families apart and sow fear in communities.

  5. Miriam Baer:

    If Holmes paints Elizabeth Holmes as a' big ideas' innovator who happened to be unaware of the company's failures or misstatements, Elizabeth Holmes can help Elizabeth Holmes case -- or at least sow doubt among several jurors.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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Translations for sow

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"sow." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/sow>.

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    one of four connected cavities in the brain; is continuous with the central canal of the spinal cord and contains cerebrospinal fluid
    A defilement
    B chin-wag
    C ventricle
    D callathump

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