transitive verb
1. Britain : to wear out : fatigue
reclining hopelessly on a settee, already dazed, sewn up, exhausted, and knocked out — Herbert Read
2.
a. : to secure or assure exclusive control of (as a business proposition or arrangement) usually by verbal agreement or contract : monopolize
the guilds had sewed up such primitive trade and industry as there were — D.C.Coyle
in a position to sew up the preferred time spots — Goodman Ace
b. : to arrange for exclusive control or use of the services of (a person) : to place under contract
the stars were already sewed up in three-year deals by the established hotels — Time
hopes to sew up the champion for a 15-round battle
c. : to obtain or make certain of the support or cooperation of (a person or group)
sew up as many … delegates as possible — Newsweek
we sewed up the women's vote with this one — Time
d. slang : to gain exclusive hold on the affection or attention of (a person)
the girl who asked him hadn't been able to sew up the captain of the … football team — Scott Fitzgerald
3. : to settle or determine (as the outcome or development)
backstage negotiations have sewed up the results in advance — Newsweek
need only one more victory to sew up their third straight … championship — Time
when he confessed before he died, that sewed the whole thing up — Hartley Howard