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Showing Results for "farming"
See Also:
  • present participle of farm.
Synonyms

farming

American  
[fahr-ming] / ˈfɑr mɪŋ /

noun

  1. the business of operating a farm.

  2. the practice of letting or leasing taxes, revenue, etc., for collection.


farming British  
/ ˈfɑːmɪŋ /

noun

    1. the business, art, or skill of agriculture

    2. ( as modifier )

      farming methods

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Etymology

Origin of farming

First recorded in 1545–55; farm + -ing 1

Explanation

Farming is the act or process of working the ground, planting seeds, and growing edible plants. You can also describe raising animals for milk or meat as farming. Farming is a great way to describe the lifestyle and work of people whose jobs are in the agriculture industry. People often have a romantic idea of what farming is like — roosters crowing, farmers driving tractors and milking goats — although farming can be very hard work, dependent on food prices and weather. The noun farm originally meant "a lease on farm land," and it comes from the Medieval Latin firma, "fixed payment."

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Vocabulary lists containing farming

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Farming and animal husbandry are the main sources of income for locals in this region known for its hazelnuts, which are exported across the world.

From Barron's • May 15, 2026

Drummers Farming Limited, based near Sherborne, gave £10,000 to the Dorset Wildlife Trust, which will be used for the Winfrith and Tadnoll Wetland Restoration Project.

From BBC • May 5, 2026

"Farming only leads to financial losses. I'd rather work as a day labourer and earn 100 to 200 baht a day just to get by. Expenses don't go down, but income keeps falling."

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

Farming and defense stocks also had a strong start.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026

Farming enabled populations to increase so radically and rapidly that no complex agricultural society could ever again sustain itself if it returned to hunting and gathering.

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

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