seam

/sim/

/sim/

Other forms: seams; seamed; seaming

When you sew two pieces of fabric together, the line you are sewing is the seam. Coal appears in long, linear underground deposits referred to as seams.

A garment that is coming to pieces will often first tear at the seams, the weakest parts. People use this image to describe anything that has reached a point where it is simply not holding together––your car could be falling apart at the seams, or if there's been a lot of stress in your life, you could be too — and you might have to move into a seamy neighborhood.

Definitions of seam

1. noun

   joint consisting of a line formed by joining two pieces
   types:

   fell, felled seam

   seam made by turning under or folding together and stitching the seamed materials to avoid rough edges

   stitch, surgical seam, suture

   a seam used in surgery

   welt

   a raised or strengthened seam

   type of:

   joint

   junction by which parts or objects are joined together
2. noun

   a slight depression in the smoothness of a surface
   synonyms: crease, crinkle, furrow, line, wrinkle

   types:

   crow's feet, crow's foot, laugh line

   a wrinkle in the skin at the outer corner of your eyes

   dermatoglyphic

   the lines that form patterns on the skin (especially on the fingertips and the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet)

   frown line

   a facial wrinkle associated with frowning

   life line, lifeline, line of life

   a crease on the palm; its length is said by palmists to indicate how long you will live

   heart line, line of heart, love line, mensal line

   a crease on the palm; palmists say it indicates your emotional nature

   line of Saturn, line of destiny, line of fate

   a crease on the palm; palmists say it indicates how successful you will be

   type of:

   depression, impression, imprint

   a concavity in a surface produced by pressing
3. noun

   a stratum of ore or coal thick enough to be mined with profit
   synonyms: bed

   types:

   coal seam

   a seam of coal

   type of:

   stratum

   one of several parallel layers of material arranged one on top of another (such as a layer of tissue or cells in an organism or a layer of sedimentary rock)
4. verb

   put together with a seam
   “seam a dress”

   types:

   stitch, suture

   join with a suture

   type of:

   bring together, join

   cause to become joined or linked