mow
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
to cut down (grass, grain, etc.) with a scythe or a machine.
-
to cut grass, grain, etc., from.
to mow the lawn.
verb (used without object)
verb phrase
noun
-
a heap or pile of hay or of sheaves of grain in a barn.
-
the place in a barn where hay, sheaves of grain, etc., are stored.
verb (used with object)
noun
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to cut down (grass, crops, etc) with a hand implement or machine
-
(tr) to cut the growing vegetation of (a field, lawn, etc)
noun
-
the part of a barn where hay, straw, etc, is stored
-
the hay, straw, etc, stored
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mow1
First recorded before 900; Middle English mowen, mouwen “to stack hay or grain,” Old English māwan “to mow;” cognate with Old Frisian mīa, German mähen
Origin of mow2
First recorded before 900; Middle English mow(e), mou, moghe, Old English mūga, mūha, mūwa “a heap or stack of grain”; cognate with Old Norse mūgi “swath”
Origin of mow3
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English moue, mouwe, mouhe, from Middle French moue “lip, pout,” Old French möe, from Frankish; akin to Middle Dutch mouwe “protruding lip”
Explanation
When you clip grass or other plants, you mow it. If you realize your front lawn is taller than your dog, it might be time to mow it. People with grassy lawns usually mow them throughout the growing season, keeping them neatly trimmed and green. Farmers mow some food crops and hay as well, when they're ready to be harvested, although they use different tools to do it, including a curved blade called a scythe. An old-fashioned meaning of mow is "a stack of hay," or "a place where hay is stored."
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:
Humorist Will Rogers famously joked to President Calvin Coolidge: "If that was my lake, I'd mow it."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026
Residents who live in the vicinity of Church Pulverbatch Parish Council in Shropshire have spent the past year sowing wildflower meadows and encouraging no mow areas.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
In exchange, "they don't have to mow as often", to ensure the panels function properly, but also, and more importantly, to comply with bushfire prevention regulations.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
We know when it is time to mow the lawn and are annoyed when rain delays us a day or two.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
Joel likes to put his turkeys in the orchard, where they eat the bugs, mow the grass, and fertilize the trees and vines.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
When the man who mowed Leon Sandler’s lawn touted internet stocks in 1999, he sold his own, avoiding the plunge.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
Volunteers who spent hours planting 30,000 bulbs in a Bristol park say they were left in "disbelief" after council workers mowed over them just days later.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
“It’s just like when I mowed lawns — let’s seize the day and make it your routine,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
Adjessom was a student at Davidson High School, and loved ones describe him as a good-natured and generous teen who mowed his neighbors’ lawns on the weekends.
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2025
The smell of fresh-cut grass when Dad mowed the lawn.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
The secret, he explained, is that mowing the lawn is a cover story.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
For the tourists' benefit, Vlkolinec puts on traditional craft demonstrations, from sewing folk costumes and gingerbread decorating to mowing and haymaking.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
"I counsel people to wear hearing protection when they're mowing grass instead of listening to music through earbuds," Price said.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026
In Lawn Mowing Simulator players "experience the beauty and detail of mowing the Great British countryside" by running a lawn care business, using "real-world licensed lawnmowers".
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
People were heading home from work, mowing, playing in their yards.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
A Scottish cycling charity is backing calls for more responsible use of e-bikes after a cyclist claimed he was mown down by a food delivery driver.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2023
The green is large and has a large expanse of closely mown turf to the left.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 10, 2023
The ninth hole was particularly tough, playing at 492 yards into the wind, with fairways mown toward the tee so balls lose some of the roll into the grain of the grass.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 2, 2023
Opportunities for subtlety, though few and far between, are mown down with theatrical oomph.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2022
Grassy, it stretched away, smooth as the mown gallops on Watership Down.
From "Watership Down: A Novel" by Richard Adams
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.
