seam

seam [si:m] n

[: Old English;]

1.) a line where two pieces of cloth, leather etc have been stitched together

▪ She was repairing Billy's trousers, where the seam had come undone.

▪ Join the shoulder seams together.

2.) a layer of a mineral under the ground

seam of coal/iron etc

3.) be coming/falling apart at the seams

a) if a plan, organization etc is coming apart at the seams, so many things are going wrong with it that it will probably fail

▪ The health service seems to be falling apart at the seams.

b) if a piece of clothing is coming apart at the seams, the stitches on it are coming unfastened

4.) be bursting/bulging at the seams

if a room or building is bursting at the seams, it is so full of people that hardly anyone else can fit into it

5.) a (rich) seam of sth

a thing, place, or group from which a type of thing can be obtained

▪ The 466-page book is a rich seam of statistical information.

6.) a line where two pieces of metal, wood etc have been joined together