I. sow 1 /səʊ $ soʊ/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense sowed , past participle sown /səʊn $ soʊn/ or sowed )
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: sawan ]
1 . [intransitive and transitive] to plant or scatter seeds on a piece of ground:
Sow the seeds in late March.
sow something with something
These fields used to be sown with oats.
2 . [transitive] to do something that will cause a bad situation in the future:
repressive laws that are sowing the seeds of future conflicts
sow doubt/confusion/dissatisfaction etc
an attempt to sow doubt among the jury members
3 . sow your wild oats if a man sows his wild oats, he has sex with many different women, especially when he is young
—sower noun [countable]
II. sow 2 /saʊ/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: sugu ]
a fully grown female pig ⇨ boar