seam /siːm/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ]
1 . a line where two pieces of cloth, leather etc have been stitched together:
She was repairing Billy’s trousers, where the seam had come undone.
Join the shoulder seams together.
2 . a layer of a mineral under the ground
seam of coal/iron etc
3 . be coming/falling apart at the seams
a) if a plan, organization etc is coming apart at the seams, so many things are going wrong with it that it will probably fail:
The health service seems to be falling apart at the seams.
b) if a piece of clothing is coming apart at the seams, the stitches on it are coming unfastened
4 . be bursting/bulging at the seams if a room or building is bursting at the seams, it is so full of people that hardly anyone else can fit into it
5 . a (rich) seam of something a thing, place, or group from which a type of thing can be obtained:
The 466-page book is a rich seam of statistical information.
6 . a line where two pieces of metal, wood etc have been joined together