What does "seam" mean?
A folded-back and stitched piece of fabric; especially, the stitching that joins two or more pieces of fabric.
Seam
/siːm/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A folded-back and stitched piece of fabric; especially, the stitching that joins two or more pieces of fabric.
- Grammar: seam is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: bed, abysm, abyss, ankle.
- Useful contrasts: detach, gap, unmineralized rock.
- Usage evidence: In order to fix this mistake we'll have to tear out this seam.
How to use "seam"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "seam" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "seam" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "seam" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "seam" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "seam" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "bed" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "seam", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A folded-back and stitched piece of fabric; especially, the stitching that joins two or more pieces of fabric.
"Mind you, clothes were clothes in those days. […] Frills, ruffles, flounces, lace, complicated seams and gores: not only did they sweep the ground and have to be held up in one hand elegantly as you walked along, but they had little capes or coats or feather boas."
- 2 An old English measure of grain, containing eight bushels. historical
- 3 Grease; tallow; lard. UK, dialectal, obsolete, uncountable
"shall the proud lord That bastes his arrogance with his own seam And never suffers matter of the world"
- 4 joint consisting of a line formed by joining two pieces wordnet
- 5 A suture.
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 An old English measure of glass, containing twenty-four weys of five pounds, or 120 pounds. historical
"As white glass was 6s. the 'seam', containing 24 'weys' (pise, or pondera) of 5 lb., and 2½ lb. was reckoned sufficient to make one foot of glazing, the cost of glass would be 1½d. leaving 2½d. for labour."
- 7 a stratum of ore or coal thick enough to be mined with profit wordnet
- 8 A thin stratum, especially of an economically viable material such as coal or mineral.
"He even roused himself to go to the mines once more: […]. He sat there, crippled, in a tub, with the under-ground manager showing him the seam with a powerful torch."
- 9 a slight depression or fold in the smoothness of a surface wordnet
- 10 The stitched equatorial seam of a cricket ball; the sideways movement of a ball when it bounces on the seam.
- 11 A joint formed by mating two separate sections of materials.
"Seams can be made or sealed in a variety of ways, including adhesive bonding, hot-air welding, solvent welding, using adhesive tapes, sealant, etc."
- 12 A line or depression left by a cut or wound; a scar; a cicatrix.
- 13 A line of junction; a joint. figuratively
"Precepts should be so finely wrought together[…]that no coarse seam may discover where they join."
Verb
- 1 To put together with a seam.
"Thus, seamed with many scars, / Bursting these prison bars, / Up to its native stars / My soul ascended!"
- 2 put together with a seam wordnet
- 3 To make the appearance of a seam in, as in knitting a stocking; hence, to knit with a certain stitch, like that in such knitting.
- 4 To mark with a seam or line; to scar.
"Seam'd o'er with wounds which his own sabre gave."
- 5 To crack open along a seam.
"Later their lips began to parch and seam."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Of the ball, to move sideways after bouncing on the seam.
- 7 Of a bowler, to make the ball move thus.
Example
"In order to fix this mistake we'll have to tear out this seam."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "seam"?
Common synonyms include: bed, abysm, abyss, ankle, applique, arroyo.
How do you use "seam" in a sentence?
In order to fix this mistake we'll have to tear out this seam.
How do you pronounce "seam"?
Pronounced /siːm/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English seem, seme, from Old English sēam (“seam”), from Proto-West Germanic *saum, from Proto-Germanic *saumaz (“that which is sewn”).
Etymology 2
From the noun seam.
Etymology 3
From Old English sēam (“a burden”), from Latin sagma (“saddle”).
Etymology 4
From Middle English seym (“grease”), from Old French saim (“fat”). Compare French saindoux (“lard”).