Etymology From Middle English stiche, from Old English stiċe (“a prick, puncture, stab, thrust with a pointed implement, pricking sensation, stitch, pain in the side, sting”), from Proto-West Germanic *stiki, from Proto-Germanic *stikiz (“prick, piercing, stitch”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to stab, pierce”). Cognate with Dutch steek (“prick, stitch”), German Stich (“a prick, piercing, stitch”), Old English stician (“to stick, stab, pierce, prick”). More at stick. Via PIE cognate with Czech steh, Polish ścieg, Russian стежо́к (stežók).
A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of the thread thus made.
2
Medicine, Sciences A single pass of a surgical suture (to sew the edges of a wound together)
I cut myself badly while cooking and needed to go to hospital to get stitches.
3
An arrangement of stitches in sewing, or method of stitching in some particular way or style.
cross stitch
herringbone stitch
4
An intense stabbing pain under the lower edge of the ribcage, brought on by exercise or laughing.
I've got a stitch. I'm going to have to stop and rest.
After about fifteen minutes I got terrible stitch.
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A local sharp pain (anywhere); an acute pain, like the piercing of a needle.
a stitch in the side
He was the next day taken with an oppreſſion, and as it ſeemed with a cold and with ſtitches, which was indeed a pluriſy.a. 1716 (date written), [Gilbert] Burnet, “Book III. Of the Rest of King Charles II’s Reign, from the Year 1673 to the Year 1685, in which He Died.”, in [Gilbert Burnet Jr.], editor, Bishop Burnet’s History of His Own Time. […], volume I, London: […] Thomas Ward […], published 1724, →OCLC, page 588:
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Violent continuous stitch in the region of the heart, the stitches multiplied when arresting the breathing. […] Feeling of heaviness in the muscles of the neck; he is obliged to bend his neck backwards. Cramp-like pain in right muscles of the neck, terminating in a stitch; the pain went off after motion and returned afterwards. […] Dull stitches in the region of the haunch-bones; pressure on the parts causes a simple pain. […] Drawing stitch in the right thigh, not perceptible when standing or ascending an elevation.1848, Gottlieb Heinrich Georg Jahr, New Manual; Or, Symptomen-codex, page 186 (1846, Samuel Hahnemann, Materia Medica Pura, page 73)
A sharp stitch in the left side of the head, on sitting down […] A sharp stitch in the upper part of the right side of the head, […]1878, Timothy Field Allen, The Encyclopedia of pure materia medica v. 8, 1878, page 291:
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A single turn of the thread round a needle in knitting; a link, or loop, of yarn
drop a stitch
take up a stitch
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An arrangement of stitches in knitting, or method of knitting in some particular way or style.
8
A space of work taken up, or gone over, in a single pass of the needle.
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A fastening, as of thread or wire, through the back of a book to connect the pages.
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Broadly Any space passed over; distance.
[Y]ou have gone a good ſtitch, you may well be a weary; ſit down.1684, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress. From This World to That which is to Come: The Second Part. […], London: […] Nathaniel Ponder […], →OCLC; reprinted in The Pilgrim’s Progress as Originally Published by John Bunyan: Being a Fac-simile Reproduction of the First Edition, London: Elliot Stock […], 1875, →OCLC, page 148:
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Colloquial Any least part of a fabric or clothing.
to wet every stitch of clothes
She didn’t have a stitch (of clothing) on.
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About DUNSTABLE they plow much in Stitches : and in Essex some very good Farmers practise this Method with very great Success; making five Stitches when they come to sow, which five make a Perch, so that between every two Stitches there is a Thorough a Foot wide.1757, Thomas Hale, “Of Tillage”, in A compleat body of husbandry, page 241:
"Why, it's you that are stripping me," replied the Ogress, "and you have not left a stitch on me." "Where the devil is the quilt?" says the Ogre[.]1828, Thomas Keightley, Fairy Mythology, volume II, page 237:
[…]for your oxen choose Two males of nine years old, for then their use Is most available, since their strengths are then Not of the weakest, and the youthful mean Sticks in their nerves still; nor will these contend With skittish tricks, when they their stitch should end, To break their plough, and leave their work undone.1875, George Chapman, Algernon Charles Swinburne, The Works of George Chapman: Poems and Minor Translations, page 224:
I would go out tonight / But I haven't got a stitch to wear1983, “This Charming Man”, Johnny Marr, Morrissey (lyrics), performed by The Smiths:
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An incorporation of an existing video into a new one, resulting in a collaborative clip that shows the two videos in a sequence.
More than 19,000 people commented, along with more stitches than she could count, Sallee said.2023 May 31, Tatum Hunter, “On TikTok, women get real about the pitfalls of motherhood”, in The Washington Post, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 03 Jun 2023:
One answer that appeared in multiple comments and stitches was that women often think about the possibility of being victims of violence.2023 September 20, Brittany Miller, “Women respond to viral TikTok prompt asking about ‘female version’ of male Roman Empire obsession”, in The Independent, London: Independent News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 23 Sep 2023:
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The stitches, as they are called on TikTok, nearly always end in agreement that Ms. Vidal was right — store-bought pesto is indeed an inferior product.2023 October 24, Remy Tumin, “She Made Pesto. People Started Spilling Their Secrets.”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 24 Oct 2023:
Now plow down your Weat-stitches, by running the Two-wheel Fallow-Plough three or four times through each Stitch, which will almost level the Ground;1750, William Ellis, “Of Plowings preparatory for Sofing Lent Crops of Grain, &c. in Chilturn Grounds”, in The Modern Husbandman - Volume 4, page 42:
If you talke / Or pull your face into a ſtich againe, / As I love truth I ſhall be very angry.1609–1612, Francis Beaumont, John Fletcher, “The Captaine”, in Comedies and Tragedies […], London: […] Humphrey Robinson, […], and for Humphrey Moseley […], published 1647, →OCLC, Act II, scene ii, page 54, column 2:
Etymology From Middle English sticchen, stichen, from Old English *stiċċan, stiċċian, from Proto-Germanic *stikjaną (“to stab, stick, prick”), influenced by the noun (see above).
To form stitches in; especially, to sew in such a manner as to show on the surface a continuous line of stitches.
to stitch a shirt bosom.
2
To sew, or unite or attach by stitches.
to stitch printed sheets in making a book or a pamphlet.
With such focus from within the footballing community this week on Remembrance Sunday, there was something appropriate about Colchester being the venue for last night’s game. Troops from the garrison town formed a guard of honour for both sets of players, who emerged for the national anthem with poppies proudly stitched into their tracksuit jackets.2011 November 10, Jeremy Wilson, “England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report”, in Telegraph:
To weld together through a series of connecting or overlapping spot welds.
You can prevent warping and get a very strong weld by stitching your pieces together.2009, Jeffery Zurschmeide, Automotive Welding: A Practical Guide, →ISBN, page 44:
For example, the butt joint can be welded with the continuous technique or the stitch technique.2014, James E. Duffy, Auto Body Repair Technology, →ISBN, page 239:
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Apply cement and stitch as necessary. A hot knife can be used to seal down loose seams.2017, Chellappa Chandrasekaran, Anticorrosive Rubber Lining: A Practical Guide for Plastics Engineers, →ISBN:
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To include, combine, or unite into a single whole.
Whereas liturgically, in the sacramental narrative of the Cross, worshippers are stitched into a salvation story, cinema spectators are stitched into a narrative in which the ordinary guy overcomes the Other in an extraordinary situation.2011, Steve Nolan, Film, Lacan and the Subject of Religion, →ISBN:
However, it is the depth and breadth of your scholarship, your incisive and decisive writing, your numerous books exemplifying this masterful craftsmanship (I stopped counting after nineteen), your wit, and your relentless resolve to listen and get it right that are now stitched into my memories.2013, Peyton McCoy, Walk into Your Season: The Art of Cultural Work, →ISBN, page viii:
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Effective landscape-scale conservation thus calls for stitching the management of public, tribal, and private lands together using collaborative processes to achieve mutual social and ecological objectives.2014, Susan Charnley, Thomas E. Sheridan, Gary P. Nabhan, Stitching the West Back Together: Conservation of Working Landscapes, →ISBN, page xvi:
The scheme promises to stitch parts of the city back into the commuter rail map, to reshape short urban journeys, and to relieve some of the pressure on the city's roads and bus routes.2025 October 1, Peter Plisner, “Closing in on Camp Hill reopening”, in RAIL, number 1045, page 44:
I can use this software to stitch together a panorama.
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To incorporate (an existing video) into a new one, resulting in a collaborative clip that shows the two videos in a sequence.
One site, PearPop.com, hooks TikTok or Instagram influencers up with fans to create duetted or stitched videos that fans pay for. This can be an effective way to build followers fast.⁹ Model Leah Svoboda added 120,000 followers after a PearPop duet with megainfluencer Anna Shumate.¹⁰2022, Brian Boxer Wachler, Influenced: The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, pages 186–187:
She talks briefly about their park picnic and then inserts a cliffhanger: “I’m going to stitch this when we’re either in a relationship or he absolutely obliterates my self-esteem.” (Stitch is a creation tool that allows users to add new content to an existing video.)2023 March 1, Rachel Ellison, “Bad Dates Turn Out to Be Excellent on TikTok”, in The New York Times: