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seam
seam / sēm/ • n. 1. a line along which two pieces of fabric are sewn together in a garment or other article. ∎ a line where the edges of two pieces of wood, wallpaper, or another material touch each other. ∎ a long thin indentation or scar: a sun-scorched face fissured with delicate seams. 2. an underground layer, as of ore or coal. • v. [tr.] 1. join with a seam. 2. [usu. as adj.] (seamed) make a long narrow indentation in: men in middle age have seamed faces. PHRASES: bursting (or bulging) at the seams inf. (of a place or building) full to overflowing. come (or fall) apart at the seams inf. (of a person or system) be in a very poor condition and near to collapse: the attitude of the airport guard was symptomatic of a system falling apart at the seams.DERIVATIVES: seam·er n. |
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Cite this article
"seam." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "seam." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-seam.html "seam." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-seam.html |
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seam
seam.
1. The narrow gap between the planks forming the sides and decks of vessels constructed of wood which is caulked with oakum and pitch to keep out the water. As wood swells when it is in contact with water, a narrow seam between the planks must be left to accommodate the expansion, and as the planks ‘take up’ when immersed, they compress the oakum and add to the watertightness. 2. As a verb, the work of the sailmaker when he joins together the cloths from which a sail is made with a double seam. See also monk's seam; sailmaker's stitching; prick, to; table, to. |
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"seam." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "seam." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-seam.html "seam." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-seam.html |
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Seam
Seama horse-load; a load or burden; specifically, eight bushels of grain; three hundred-weight of hay or manure; two hundred-weight of straw (a cartload). Examples : seam of apples (9 pecks); of corn (a quarter), 1440; of dung, 1726; of glass (120 lb.), 1325; of grain (8 bushels); of hay (3 ctw), 1880; of lime, 1536; of manure, (3 cwt); of oats (8 bushels), 1377; of sand (6-8 pecks); of straw (3 cwt); of wood, 1545. |
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"Seam." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Seam." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301333.html "Seam." Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. 1985. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-2505301333.html |
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seam
seam junction made by sewing; line made by two abutting edges. OE. sēam = MDu. sōm (Du. zoom), OHG. soum (G. saum), ON. saumr — Gmc. *saumaz, f. *su- SEW.
Hence seam vb. XVI, seamstress, sempstress XVII. |
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T. F. HOAD. "seam." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "seam." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-seam.html T. F. HOAD. "seam." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-seam.html |
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seam
seam
•abeam, agleam, beam, blaspheme, bream, cream, deem, deme, downstream, dream, esteem, extreme, gleam, hakim, kilim, meme, midstream, Nîmes, ream, régime, scheme, scream, seam, seem, steam, stream, supreme, team, teem, theme, upstream
•cross-beam • hornbeam • moonbeam
•sunbeam • academe • morpheme
•phoneme • jet stream • airstream
•daydream • mainstream • Brylcreem
•millstream • slipstream
•bloodstream • monotreme
•buttercream • raceme • septime
•centime
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Cite this article
"seam." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 28 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "seam." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (May 28, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-seam.html "seam." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-seam.html |
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