glean
Americanverb (used with object)
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gleans,
present (3rd person singular)
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gleaned,
past participle, past
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gleaning
present participle
-
to gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit.
-
to gather small amounts of (grain or the like) left behind after a harvest, nowadays often for charitable use.
-
to clear (a field, orchard, etc.) of leftover produce in this way.
Millet’s painting The Gleaners depicts three peasant women stooping low as they glean a field of wheat.
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to learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly.
verb (used without object)
-
gleans,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gleaned,
past participle, past
-
gleaning
present participle
-
to collect or gather anything little by little or slowly.
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to gather what is left by reapers.
verb
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to gather (something) slowly and carefully in small pieces
to glean information from the newspapers
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to gather (the useful remnants of a crop) from the field after harvesting
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gleansimple
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gleanssimple
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have gleanedperfect
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has gleanedperfect
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am gleaningprogressive
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are gleaningprogressive
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is gleaningprogressive
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have been gleaningperfect progressive
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has been gleaningperfect progressive
Past
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gleanedsimple
-
had gleanedperfect
-
was gleaningprogressive
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were gleaningprogressive
-
had been gleaningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glean
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English glenen, from Old French glener, from Late Latin glennāre, ultimately from Celtic
Explanation
Glean means to gather bit by bit, either literally or figuratively. You might glean leftover grain from a recently harvested field or glean information about new vocabulary words by hearing them used in context. When you glean information, you sort through ideas and take what you need. Seeing a word in context lets you glean information about how it's used, for example. If you want to find treasures at a thrift shop, you’ll have to glean the good stuff out of the piles of junk. To glean a field means to walk along and see what’s left on the ground. It takes patience to glean.
Vocabulary lists containing glean
List 8
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Scythe
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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.
See Examples For:
You always want your work to have impact, you want it to have meaning, you want people to glean something from it that’s relevant to their own lives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Through these former employees and their access to "sensitive projects, trusted partner relationships, proprietary manufacturing techniques, and unreleased products," Apple claims OpenAI has been able to glean details of its product plans and operations.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
As you might glean, that question is rhetorical.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
Under the partnership, several thousand workers in some of Bosch's 350 facilities worldwide will wear sensor suits to glean training data for Neura robots.
From Barron's ● Jun. 10, 2026
If she was chosen today, Citra would not defy the edict to glean Rowan—but she did have a plan that might save both of them.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
And, who gets to monetize the insights that AI gleans?
From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025
“Dune: Prophecy” continues HBO’s thematic streak of examining human nature from the heights of wealth and influence, assuming its audience gleans joy from watching the rich cannibalize each other.
From Salon ● Nov. 17, 2024
Mrs. Stonehouse was played by Hawes, whose character soon gleans that her husband is not all that he seems.
From New York Times ● Mar. 21, 2023
Commissioner Danielle Outlaw added that she will be “leaning on what the investigation gleans to answer unanswered questions.”
From Washington Times ● Oct. 28, 2020
“What if another scythe gleans her during the off years?”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
She’s extremely interested in the ways problematic movies can be reclaimed by the real-life minority figures depicted in them, and what can be gleaned from studying these films’ merits.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
From what can be gleaned from sections released so far, the country has been divided into the “Still United” states and an illiberal territory called the Dakota Membership.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Many of the lessons Trey gleaned from the stars at dad’s work — first with the Angels and then, the last eight years, the Dodgers — came from observing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
That information was gleaned from two surveys conducted in 2025, each involving more than 5,000 U.S. adults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
Perhaps it was the unexpected closeness she felt to Scythe Curie after seeing her feed the grieving family and listen—truly listen—to their stories about the man she had gleaned.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Despite being in charge of several enormous companies, Musk regularly wades into ostensibly local disputes, not just in Belfast but across Europe, apparently gleaning much of his knowledge from people he follows on X.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Ultimately, gleaning what is happening in the brain could change anesthesia, helping it to be redesigned or personalized to more closely resemble natural sleep rather than a coma-like one, Helfrich said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Many travel to greet the returning prisoners in the hope of gleaning information about their loved ones.
From Barron's ● May 8, 2026
The skeptics in my life believe L’Belle-Tividad may just be really good at collecting information about people, gleaning details from other readings and our demographic data.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025
“It’s our job to know. Your gleaning won’t change any of that. You lived a good life. Scythe Faraday is here to complete it for you.”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
