Adjacent Words

Seam definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

SEAM, n.
1. The suture or uniting of two edges of cloth by the needle.
The coat was without seam , woven from the top throughout. John 29.
2. The joint or juncture of planks in a ship's side or deck; or rather the intervals between the edges of boards or planks in a floor, etc. The seams of the ships are filled with oakum, and covered with pitch.
3. In mines, a vein or stratum of metal, ore, coal and the like.
4. A cicatrix or scar.
5. A measure of eight bushels of corn; or the vessel that contains it. [Not used in America.]
A seam of glass, the quanity of 120 pounds, or 24 stones of five pounds each. [Not used in America.]
SEAM, n. Tallow; grease; lard. [Not in use.]
SEAM, v.t.
1. To form a seam; to sew or otherwise unite.
2. To mark with a cicatrix; to scar; as seamed with wounds.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: joint consisting of a line formed by joining two pieces
2: a slight depression in the smoothness of a surface; "his face has many lines"; "ironing gets rid of most wrinkles" [syn: wrinkle, furrow, crease, crinkle, seam, line]
3: a stratum of ore or coal thick enough to be mined with profit; "he worked in the coal beds" [syn: seam, bed] v
1: put together with a seam; "seam a dress"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English seem, from Old English s?am; akin to Old English s?wian to sew — more at sew Date: before 12th century 1. a. the joining of two pieces (as of cloth or leather) by sewing usually near the edge b. the stitching used in such a joining 2. the space between adjacent planks or strakes of a ship 3. a. a line, groove, or ridge formed by the abutment of edges b. a thin layer or stratum (as of rock) between distinctive layers; also a bed of valuable mineral and especially coal irrespective of thickness c. a line left by a cut or wound; also wrinkle 4. a weak or vulnerable area or gap <found a seam in the zone defense> • seamlike adjective II. verb Date: 1582 transitive verb 1. a. to join by sewing b. to join as if by sewing (as by welding, riveting, or heat-sealing) 2. to mark with lines suggesting seams intransitive verb to become fissured or ridgy • seamer noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a line where two edges join, esp. of two pieces of cloth etc. turned back and stitched together, or of boards fitted edge to edge. 2 a fissure between parallel edges. 3 a wrinkle or scar. 4 a stratum of coal etc. --v.tr. 1 join with a seam. 2 (esp. as seamed adj.) mark or score with or as with a seam. Phrases and idioms: bursting at the seams full to overflowing. seam bowler Cricket a bowler who makes the ball deviate by bouncing off its seam. Derivatives: seamer n. seamless adj. Etymology: OE seam f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Seam Seam, v. i. To become ridgy; to crack open. Later their lips began to parch and seam. --L. Wallace.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Seam Seam, n. [AS. se['a]m, LL. sauma, L. sagma a packsaddle, fr. Gr. ?. See Sumpter.] A denomination of weight or measure. Specifically: (a) The quantity of eight bushels of grain. ``A seam of oats.'' --P. Plowman. (b) The quantity of 120 pounds of glass. [Eng.]

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Seam Seam (s[=e]m), n. [See Saim.] Grease; tallow; lard. [Obs. or prov. Eng.] --Shak. Dryden.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Seam Seam, n. [OE. seem, seam, AS. se['a]m; akin to D. zoom, OHG. soum, G. saum, LG. soom, Icel. saumr, Sw. & Dan. s["o]m, and E. sew. [root] 156. See Sew to fasten with thread.] 1. The fold or line formed by sewing together two pieces of cloth or leather. 2. Hence, a line of junction; a joint; a suture, as on a ship, a floor, or other structure; the line of union, or joint, of two boards, planks, metal plates, etc. Precepts should be so finely wrought together . . . that no coarse seam may discover where they join. --Addison. 3. (Geol. & Mining) A thin layer or stratum; a narrow vein between two thicker strata; as, a seam of coal. 4. A line or depression left by a cut or wound; a scar; a cicatrix. Seam blast, a blast by putting the powder into seams or cracks of rocks. Seam lace, a lace used by carriage makers to cover seams and edges; -- called also seaming lace. Seam presser. (Agric.) (a) A heavy roller to press down newly plowed furrows. (b) A tailor's sadiron for pressing seams. --Knight. Seam set, a set for flattering the seams of metal sheets, leather work, etc.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Seam Seam, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Seamed; p. pr. & vb. n. Seaming.] 1. To form a seam upon or of; to join by sewing together; to unite. 2. To mark with something resembling a seam; to line; to scar. Seamed o'?r with wounds which his own saber gave. --Pope. 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(seams) 1. A seam is a line of stitches which joins two pieces of cloth together. N-COUNT 2. A seam of coal is a long, narrow layer of it underneath the ground. The average UK coal seam is one metre thick. N-COUNT: usu with supp 3. If something is coming apart at the seams or is falling apart at the seams, it is no longer working properly and may soon stop working completely. Britain's university system is in danger of falling apart at the seams. PHRASE: V inflects 4. If a place is very full, you can say that it is bursting at the seams. The hotels of Warsaw, Prague and Budapest were bursting at the seams. PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. n. 1. Suture, commissure, joint, line of juncture. 2. Fissure, crevice. 3. (Mining.) Thin layer, stratum, or bed; narrow vein. 4. Scar, cicatrice, cicatrix. II. v. a. 1. Unite, join together. 2. Scar, mark with a cicatrix, line.

Moby Thesaurus

abysm, abyss, ankle, arroyo, articulation, band, bed, bedding, belt, blaze, blaze a trail, blemish, blotch, bond, boundary, box canyon, brand, breach, break, butt, canyon, cavity, cervix, chalk, chalk up, chap, chasm, check, check off, chimney, chink, cicatrix, cicatrize, cleft, cleuch, clinch, closure, clough, col, connecting link, connecting rod, connection, couche, coulee, couloir, coupling, course, crack, cranny, crevasse, crevice, cut, cwm, dapple, dash, deck, defile, define, delimit, dell, demarcate, dike, discolor, ditch, donga, dot, dovetail, draw, elbow, embrace, engrave, excavation, fault, fissure, flaw, fleck, floor, flume, fracture, freckle, furrow, gallery, gap, gape, gash, gliding joint, gorge, groove, gulch, gulf, gully, hatch, hinge, hinged joint, hip, hole, impress, imprint, incision, interface, join, joining, joint, junction, juncture, kloof, knee, knuckle, layer, leak, ledge, level, line, link, lode, make a mark, mark, mark off, mark out, measures, miter, moat, mortise, mottle, neck, nick, notch, nullah, opening, overlayer, overstory, pass, passage, pencil, pepper, pivot, pivot joint, point, prick, print, punch, punctuate, puncture, rabbet, ravine, rent, riddle, ridge, rift, rime, rupture, scar, scarf, scarify, scissure, score, scotch, scratch, seal, shelf, shoulder, slit, slot, speck, speckle, split, splotch, spot, stage, stain, stamp, step, stigmatize, stitch, story, stratum, streak, striate, stripe, substratum, superstratum, suture, symphysis, tattoo, thickness, tick, tick off, tie rod, tier, toggle, toggle joint, topsoil, trace, trench, underlayer, underline, underscore, understory, understratum, union, valley, vein, void, wadi, weld, wrist, zone