What does "sow" mean?
A female pig.
Sow
/saʊ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A female pig.
- Grammar: sow is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: adult sow, barrow, bean seed, bed.
- Useful contrasts: fallow land management, unplanted, boar.
- Usage evidence: You know the phrase, we reap what we sow. I have sown the wind and this is my storm.
How to use "sow"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "sow" 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 "sow" 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 "sow" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "sow" 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 "sow" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang 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 "adult sow" 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 "sow", 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 female pig.
- 2 Initialism of statement of work (“a document in project management, including deliverables and timelines”). abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
- 3 an adult female hog wordnet
- 4 A female bear, she-bear.
"Lucky he wasn't a sow. They've usually just dropped a cub this time of year. A sow would have been cranky as hell."
- 5 Initialism of standoff weapon. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 A female guinea pig.
- 7 A channel that conducts molten metal to molds.
- 8 A mass of metal solidified in a mold.
"In England, it was generally termed a 'sow', if the weight was above 10 cwts., if below, it was termed a 'pig' from which the present term 'pig iron' is derived."
- 9 A contemptible, often fat woman. derogatory, slang
- 10 A sowbug.
- 11 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, etc.
Verb
- 1 To scatter, disperse, or plant (seeds). ambitransitive
"When I had sown the field, the day's work was over."
- 2 introduce into an environment wordnet
- 3 To spread abroad; to propagate. (usu. negative connotation) figuratively
"As you sow, so shall you reap."
- 4 place (seeds) in or on the ground for future growth wordnet
- 5 To scatter over; to besprinkle. figuratively
"The intellectual faculty is a goodly field, […] and it is the worst husbandry in the world to sow it with trifles."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 place seeds in or on (the ground) wordnet
- 7 Obsolete spelling of sew. alt-of, obsolete
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname. countable, uncountable
- 2 A river in Staffordshire, England, which joins the River Trent. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"You know the phrase, we reap what we sow. I have sown the wind and this is my storm."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "sow"?
Common synonyms include: adult sow, barrow, bean seed, bed, bedder, beds.
How do you use "sow" in a sentence?
You know the phrase, we reap what we sow. I have sown the wind and this is my storm.
How do you pronounce "sow"?
Pronounced /saʊ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English sowe, from Old English sugu, from Proto-West Germanic *sugu, from Proto-Germanic *sugō, probably from Proto-Indo-European *su(H)kéh₂, from *suH- (“pig”). See also West Frisian sûch, Dutch zeug, Low German Söög, German Sau, Swedish sugga, Norwegian sugge; also Welsh hwch (“pig”), Sanskrit सूकर (sūkará, “swine, boar”); also Danish so, German Sau, Latin sūs, Tocharian B suwo, Ancient Greek ὗς (hûs), Albanian thi, Avestan 𐬵𐬏 (hū, “boar”). See also swine. Doublet of soor.
Etymology 2
From Middle English sowen, from Old English sāwan, from Proto-West Germanic *sāan, from Proto-Germanic *sēaną, from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁-. Compare Dutch zaaien, German säen, Danish så, Norwegian Bokmål så.