Definition of "stitch"

stitch¹

/stɪt͡ʃ/

noun
plural stitches
1. A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of the thread thus made.
2. An arrangement of stitches in sewing, or method of stitching in some particular way or style.
3. (countable and uncountable) An intense stabbing pain under the lower edge of the ribcage, brought on by exercise or laughing.
4. A local sharp pain (anywhere); an acute pain, like the piercing of a needle.
  Quotations
  He was the next day taken with an oppreſſion, and as it ſeemed with a cold and with ſtitches, which was indeed a pluriſy.
  1724, [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 […], page 588
  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
5. A single turn of the thread round a needle in knitting; a link, or loop, of yarn
6. An arrangement of stitches in knitting, or method of knitting in some particular way or style.
7. A space of work taken up, or gone over, in a single pass of the needle.
8. A fastening, as of thread or wire, through the back of a book to connect the pages.
9. (by extension) Any space passed over; distance.
  Quotations
  [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 […]; 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, page 148
10. (obsolete) A contortion, or twist.
  Quotations
  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, Act II, scene ii, page 54, column 2
11. (colloquial) Any least part of a fabric or clothing.
  Quotations
  "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
  I would go out tonight / But I haven't got a stitch to wear
  1983, “This Charming Man”, Johnny Marr, Morrissey (lyrics), performed by The Smiths
12. (obsolete) A furrow.
  Quotations
  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
  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
  […] 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
13. The space between two double furrows.

stitch²

/stɪt͡ʃ/

verb
third-person singular simple present stitches, present participle stitching, simple past and past participle stitched
1. To form stitches in; especially, to sew in such a manner as to show on the surface a continuous line of stitches.
2. To sew, or unite or attach by stitches.
  Quotations
  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
3. (intransitive) To practice/practise stitching or needlework.
4. (agriculture) To form land into ridges.
5. To weld together through a series of connecting or overlapping spot welds.
  Quotations
  You can prevent warping and get a very strong weld by stitching your pieces together.
  2009, Jeffery Zurschmeide, Automotive Welding: A Practical Guide, 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, page 239
  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
6. To include, combine, or unite into a single whole.
  Quotations
  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
  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, page viii
  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, page xvi
  1. (computer graphics) To combine two or more photographs of the same scene into a single image.
  2. (TikTok) To incorporate (an existing video) into a new one, resulting in a collaborative clip that shows the two videos in a sequence.
    Quotations
    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.10
    2022, Brian Boxer Wachler, Influenced: The Impact of Social Media on Our Perception, Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 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

Definition of "stitch"

stitch1

noun

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stitch2

verb

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stitch¹

stitch²