sow

BrE /suː/ AmE /su/

verb / noun en → es

past sowed pp sown ing sowing

1 PLANT SEEDS [transitive] B1

to put seeds into the ground so that they will grow into plants or crops

sembrar, plantar semillas

  • sow something in/on somewhere

Collocations sow seeds · sow crops

  • Farmers sow wheat in the spring.

    Los agricultores siembran trigo en la primavera.

2 CAUSE [transitive] B1

to cause something to happen, especially something bad or unpleasant

causar, provocar

  • sow the seeds of something

Collocations sow discord · sow doubt

  • The argument sowed the seeds of future conflict.

    El debate sembró las semillas de futuros conflictos.

3 NOUN [noun] B2

a female animal, especially a pig or cow that has recently given birth to young animals

madre (de cerdo o vaca)

Phrasal verbs

sow something down PLANT SEEDS C1

sembrar algo

  • They sowed the field down with wheat.

    Sembraron el campo con trigo.

Idioms

sow one's wild oats C1

sembrar sus locuras

  • He has sown his wild oats and is now settling down.

    Él ha sembrado sus locuras y ahora se está estableciendo.