embroider

Everyday

1. To embroider means to sew patterns or pictures onto cloth with coloured thread. tree →
2. To embroider a story means to add made-up details to make it more exciting. tree →
3. To embroider can also mean to cover something so thickly with things that it looks decorated, like a carriage crowded with people. tree →

In the lessons

In crafts and art lessons pupils embroider simple designs. In stories, someone who embroiders the truth adds untrue parts. Phrases: «embroider a name», «embroider the truth».

Examples

• Gran embroidered my name on my bag. tree →
• We embroidered flowers on a cushion in class. tree →
• The shirt has a dragon embroidered on the back. tree →
• He embroidered the story to make it funnier. tree →
• It takes 30 stitches to embroider one petal; how many for 5 petals? tree →
• Don't embroider the facts — just say what happened. tree →
• Carriages and omnibuses are crowded, stuffed and embroidered with people. tree →

Note

Noun: embroidery (the craft or the work). Regular verb. Spelling: em-broid-er.