sow Definition

sow¹
verb, tr & intr sowed, sown, sowed, sowing

1. To scatter or place (plant seeds, a crop, etc) on or in the earth, in a plant pot, etc.

Thesaurus: seed, plant, inseminate, propagate, scatter, strew.
2. To plant (a piece of land) with seeds, a crop, etc.

Example: sowed the upper field with barley
3. To introduce or arouse.

Example: sowed the seeds of doubt in his mind

Derivative: sower
noun

Idiom: sow one's wild oats

To indulge in a dissipated lifestyle, often having numerous sexual partners, especially for a relatively short period of time in one's youth.

Idiom: sow the seeds of something

See under seed.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon sawan.

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sow²
noun

1a. An adult female pig, especially one that has had a litter of piglets;
1b. A female guinea pig;
1c. The name given to the female of certain other animals, such as the mink.
2a. metallurgy.
The main channel that molten metal flows along towards the smaller channels or pig (noun 5b);
2b. metallurgy.
A piece of metal that has solidified in one of these channels.

Etymology: Anglo-Saxon sugu.