agriculture
Americannoun
-
the science, art, or occupation concerned with cultivating land, raising crops, and feeding, breeding, and raising livestock; farming.
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Down on the Farm
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
The United States
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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.
"People in agriculture are eternal optimists," she said "Otherwise we wouldn't get in it."
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2026
About 56% of the water from the State Water Project flows to urban areas, while 44% is used for agriculture.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
At around 35 million hectolitres the total harvest would be down two percent on a mediocre 2025 yield and 14 percent below the 2021–2025 average, according to estimates published Wednesday by the ministry of agriculture.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Tampa Bay communities also never adopted the extensive maize agriculture associated with Mississippian society, relying instead on fishing and other marine resources.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 6, 2026
The forager economy provided most people with more interesting lives than agriculture or industry do.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
