What does sowed mean?
Sowed is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb sow, and it has both literal and figurative meanings. Literally, to have sowed something is to have planted or scattered seed, as when describing a field prepared for a new crop. Figuratively, sowed describes the introduction and spread of ideas, feelings, suspicions, or conflict: a speaker may have “sowed the seeds of doubt” in listeners’ minds, while conflicting accounts can “sow discord.” The word often suggests an initial action whose consequences unfold later, especially when seeds function as a metaphor for conditions that grow or take root. In standard modern English, sowed is used in British and American speech and writing, and it can also appear before its object as a participial adjective, as in “newly sowed fields.” Although its figurative use is especially common today, its agricultural sense remains entirely ordinary. The word is useful because it captures both deliberate scattering and the consequential process of setting something in motion, whether concrete or abstract.
verbSowed is the simple past tense and past participle of sow. It means planted or scattered seed and can also mean introduced or disseminated something such as ideas, conflict, or distrust.
- To introduce, disseminate, or set in motion something such as an idea, feeling, suspicion, or conflict.
- To plant or scatter seed in soil.
"The farmer sowed the field with winter wheat before the first frost."
"The rumor sowed doubt among the members of the committee."
"After the rain, she sowed rows of lettuce in the vegetable garden."
Sowed and sewed are exact homophones in both British and American English, but one plants the future while the other mends the fabric.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does sowed come from?
Sowed comes from Old English sāwan, meaning “to plant seed,” through Proto-Germanic *sēaną. Its relatives include Old Norse sá, German säen, and Dutch zaaien, all preserving the inherited sense of scattering or planting seed. The word’s figurative meanings developed early, extending the agricultural metaphor to the sowing of ideas, customs, or discord.
Related word forms
How sowed is actually used
Sowed is standard in formal and informal British and American English. It can function as a participial adjective before a noun, as in “newly sowed fields.”
Easily confused with sowed
Sowed means planted or scattered seed, whereas sewed means joined or repaired fabric with thread.