stitch

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A single complete movement of a threaded needle in sewing or surgical suturing.
• noun A single loop of thread or yarn made with an implement such as a sewing or knitting needle.
• noun A single loop or knot of thread used in closing a wound or incision in surgery; a suture.
• noun A way of arranging the threads in sewing, knitting, crocheting, or suturing.
• noun A sudden sharp pain, especially in the side. synonym: pain.
• noun Informal An article of clothing.
• noun Informal The least part; a bit.
• intransitive verb To fasten or join with stitches.
• intransitive verb To mend or repair with stitches.
• intransitive verb To decorate or ornament, as with stitches.
• intransitive verb To fasten together with staples or thread.
• intransitive verb To make stitches; sew, knit, crochet, or suture.
• idiom (in stitches) Laughing uncontrollably.

from The Century Dictionary.

• In weaving, to unite by concealed threads, either warp or filling or both, (two or more fabrics), so that they shall appear as one, forming a two-ply, three-ply, etc., fabric.
• In bookbinding, to pass a thread or flexible wire through perforations made near the back fold of the assembled sections of (an unbound book).
• noun Same as suture.
• To unite by stitches; sew.
• To ornament with stitches.
• In agriculture, to form into ridges.
• To mend or unite with a needle and thread: as, to stitch up a rent; to stitch up an artery.
• To sew; make stitches.
• noun An acute sudden pain like that produced by the thrust of a needle; a sharp spasmodic pain, especially in the intercostal muscles: as, a stitch in the side. Such pains in the side may be myalgic, neuralgic, pleuritic, or due to muscular cramp.
• noun A contortion; a grimace; a twist of the face.
• noun In sewing: One movement of a threaded needle, passing in and out of the fabric, and uniting two parts by the thread, which is drawn tight after each insertion.
• noun The part of the thread left in the fabric by this movement.
• noun In knitting, netting, crochet, embroidery, lace-making, etc.: One whole movement of the implement or implements used, as knitting-needles, bobbins, hook, etc.
• noun The result of this movement, shown in the work itself.
• noun The kind or style of work produced by stitching: as, buttonhole-stitch; cross-stitch; pillowlace stitch; by extension, a kind or style of work with the loom. For stitches in lace, see point. See also whip-stitch.
• noun Distance passed over at one time; stretch; distance; way.
• noun In agriculture, a space between two double furrows in plowed ground; a furrow or ridge.
• noun A bit of clothing; a rag: as, he had not a dry stitch on.
• noun In bookbinding, a connection of leaves or pieces of paper, through perforations an inch or so apart, with thread or wire.
• noun (See also backstitch, chain-stitch, crewel-stitch, cross-stitch, feather-stitch, hemstitch, lock-stitch, rope-stitch, spider-stitch, stem-stitch, streak-stitch, etc.)

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To form stitches in; especially, to sew in such a manner as to show on the surface a continuous line of stitches.
• transitive verb To sew, or unite together by stitches.
• transitive verb (Agric.) To form land into ridges.
• transitive verb to mend or unite with a needle and thread.
• intransitive verb To practice stitching, or needlework.
• noun A single pass of a needle in sewing; the loop or turn of the thread thus made.
• noun A single turn of the thread round a needle in knitting; a link, or loop, of yarn
• noun A space of work taken up, or gone over, in a single pass of the needle; hence, by extension, any space passed over; distance.
• noun A local sharp pain; an acute pain, like the piercing of a needle.
• noun obsolete A contortion, or twist.
• noun colloq. Any least part of a fabric or dress.
• noun A furrow.
• noun An arrangement of stitches, or method of stitching in some particular way or style
• noun See in the Vocabulary.