agriculture
Americannoun
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the science, art, or occupation concerned with cultivating land, raising crops, and feeding, breeding, and raising livestock; farming.
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the production of crops, livestock, or poultry.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of agriculture
First recorded in 1425–75; late Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin agrīcultūra, from agrī (genitive singular of ager “field”) + cultūra culture
Explanation
Agriculture describes the practice of growing crops or raising animals. Someone who works as a farmer is in the agriculture industry. The Latin root of agriculture is agri, or "field," plus cultura, "cultivation." Cultivating a piece of land, or planting and growing food plants on it, is largely what agriculture means. Raising animals for meat or milk also falls under the category of agriculture. If we didn't have agriculture, we'd all be running around the woods, picking berries and trying to shoot things.
Vocabulary lists containing agriculture
The Industrial Revolution - Introductory
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Down on the Farm
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The United States
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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.
In Florence and the rest of Tuscany work is barred on outdoor building sites and in agriculture from 12:30 to 16:00 if the risk of heat stress poses significant risks to workers' health.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
The group, one of the world's biggest chemical companies and a key supplier to industries ranging from agriculture to automotive, had previously predicted a range of 6.2 to 7.0 billion euros.
From Barron's ● Jul. 15, 2026
Pathways range across fields including engineering, information technology, agriculture, public policy and entertainment.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
Bumblebees may be small, measuring only about an inch long, but they play an enormous role in global agriculture.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
More agriculture meant more and more land was needed for planting crops and raising livestock.
From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh
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.
