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sow

19 4.9

An adult female pig kept to have piglets

noun
/saʊ/

: cerda

In the barn, the sow nursed her litter of piglets with great care.

And so I got picked to collect sperm from a pig to then, which was then going to be inseminated, which somebody else did into a sow to make piglets.

Examples

There were four kinds of pigs: feeders, bolders, gilts, and sows, and many different breeds.

Fiction book (1993)
The grinder finishes and dispenses the feed to the sows, who shut up immediately.

Fiction book (1993)
You see, there are two ways of getting a sow pregnant.

Leon the Pig Farmer (1993)
A neighbor brought his sow over once to be impregnated by the pig.

Fiction book (2002)
The sow has no pigs, the farmer is afraid he may starve.

The Magnificent Seven (1960)
Out in the field, there was one enormous sow tethered by a rope to her hind leg.

Fiction book (1991)
His first project was done with 16 sows, studying 4 at a time from Purdue's herd of 250 sows.

Academic text (2005)
The brood sows remain in a sow unit for breeding, gestation, and farrowing.

Academic text (1997)
The Royal Farm's digester used the manure from a 1,600-sow farrow-to-finish farm.

Academic text (2000)
In general, PRRSV causes a disease characterized by reproductive failure in sows and respiratory infection in growing pigs.

Academic text (2012)

Synonyms

brood sow

vssow

Jargon

1 8.9

A female pig kept to have piglets

is the adult female pig term used more generally rather than only for breeding

Idioms

to reap what you sow

Informal

9 6.0

To get the results of your actions, good or bad

to sow the seeds of

Informal

5 6.3

To cause a small action now that brings bigger effects later

to sow wild oats

NSFW

4 9.6

Behave carelessly and have many romantic adventures before settling down

to sow the seeds of change

Informal

1 5.0

Start small actions that lead to change later

to sow one's oats

NSFW

1 9.9

Have many casual sexual relationships when young before settling down

to sow one's wild oats

NSFW

1 9.8

To have many short sexual relationships when young

Compounds

brood sow

Jargon

1 8.9

A female pig kept to have piglets

sow bug

1 7.9

A small grey animal with a hard oval body that lives under stones and logs

sow thistle

1 9.6

A prickly plant with yellow flowers and white sap often found in gardens as a weed

Surface Forms

sow singular

sows plural

Etymology

Sow for a grown female pig comes from an old English word for a 'female pig' and is related to the family word swine, so a sow still means an adult female pig kept for breeding.