Meaning & use
sewing machine
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A machine that joins cloth with thread and a needle, used for making or repairing clothes and other items.
Grammar: Countable: say 'a sewing machine' or 'two sewing machines'.
Patterns
- use a sewing machine
- a sewing machine needle
- on a sewing machine
My grandmother taught me to use a sewing machine when I was ten.
The sewing machine is broken, so I have to sew this hem by hand.
She bought a small sewing machine to make curtains for her new flat.
Word forms
| plural | sewing machines |
|---|
Common combinations
- electric sewing machine
- An electric sewing machine makes the work much faster than a hand-cranked one.
- sewing machine needle
- I need to replace the sewing machine needle because it snapped.
- thread a sewing machine
- It took me five minutes to thread the sewing machine correctly.
- sewing machine repair shop
- The sewing machine repair shop on the corner fixed the tension problem.
- use a sewing machine
- You can use a sewing machine to make simple cushion covers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sewer
- Sewer can mean a person who sews or a drain for waste water; it is not a machine, so it does not fit here.
- stitching machine
- Stitching machine is a less common, more industrial term for a machine that sews; sewing machine is the normal everyday word.
Word family
- sew verb
- To join cloth with thread and a needle, either by hand or with a machine.
- sewing noun
- The activity or skill of making or repairing things with a needle and thread.
- seamstress noun
- A woman whose job is sewing, especially making clothes.
Commonly confused: sewing machine or sewing? sewing machine or sowing?
sewing machine vs sewing
Sewing is the activity or the present participle of 'sew'; a sewing machine is the device you use for that activity.
sewing machine vs sowing
Sowing means planting seeds in the ground. It sounds like 'sewing' but has nothing to do with cloth.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'sewing machine' correctly.
Choose one answer.
We use 'with' for the tool or instrument: 'with a sewing machine'. 'On' is wrong because you do not sit or stand on the machine; 'by' is used for means of transport or method, not a physical tool; 'in' suggests being inside the machine, which is impossible.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sewing machine”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.