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Definition of seam noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

seam

noun
 
/siːm/
 
/siːm/
Idioms
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  1. a line along which two edges of cloth, etc. are joined or sewn together
    • a shoulder seam
    Extra Examples
    • She sewed the seam with small neat stitches.
    • I only had the shoes for a month before they started to fall apart at the seams.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverb + seam
    • sew
    • stitch
    • press
    phrases
    • be bursting at the seams
    • come apart at the seams
    • fall apart at the seams
    See full entry
  2. a thin layer of coal or other material, between layers of rock under the ground
    • They struck a rich seam of iron ore.
    • (figurative) The book is a rich seam of information.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • coal
    • rich
    • narrow
    verb + seam
    • exploit
    • mine
    See full entry
  3. a line where two edges meet, for example the edges of wooden boards
    • Light was spilling in through the seams of the door.
  4. Word OriginOld English sēam, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch zoom and German Saum.
Idioms
be bursting/bulging at the seams
  1. (informal) to be very full, especially of people
    • Los Angeles is bursting at the seams with would-be actors.
    • The film is bursting at the seams with good performances.
be falling/coming apart at the seams
  1. (informal) to be going very badly wrong and likely to stop functioning completely
    • She was falling apart at the seams, spending most of her time in tears.
    • His little world fell apart at the seams.
    • Their marriage was coming apart at the seams.
fray at/around the edges/seams
  1. to start to come apart or to fail
    • Support for the leader was fraying at the edges.
    Topics Difficulty and failurec2
See seam in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
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noun
 
 
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