Meaning & use
at the seams
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Used to say that something is failing or about to fail completely.
Grammar: Follows the verb 'be' or 'come apart': The team is coming apart at the seams.
Patterns
- be coming apart at the seams
- be bursting at the seams
After months of poor sales, the company was coming apart at the seams.
Their marriage had been falling apart at the seams for years.
The whole project is bursting at the seams and needs more staff.
phrasefixed phrase
Literally, along the line where two pieces of material are sewn together.
Grammar: Used with verbs like 'tear' or 'split': The cushion split at the seams.
Patterns
- tear at the seams
- split at the seams
The old sofa had torn at the seams and needed repairing.
His jacket was worn and splitting at the seams.
Common combinations
- come apart at the seams
- The business came apart at the seams after the founder left.
- fall apart at the seams
- Their plan fell apart at the seams when the money ran out.
- bursting at the seams
- The little café was bursting at the seams on Saturday morning.
- be at the seams
- The team was at the seams after losing three key players.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fall apart
- More general; can describe physical objects or situations, while 'at the seams' often suggests something is still holding together but barely.
- collapse
- Stronger and more sudden; 'at the seams' suggests a gradual process of failing.
Opposites
Commonly confused: at the seams or by the seams?
at the seams vs by the seams
Not a standard phrase. The correct expression is 'at the seams'.
Practice
After the scandal, the political party was ______ at the seams.
Choose one answer.
The fixed phrase is 'come apart at the seams'; 'coming apart' alone is incomplete here because the idiom requires 'at the seams'. The other options add the wrong preposition.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “at the seams”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.