fallow
1 Americanadjective
-
(of land) plowed and left unseeded for a season or more; uncultivated.
-
not in use; inactive.
My creative energies have lain fallow this year.
noun
verb (used with object)
adjective
adjective
-
(of land) left unseeded after being ploughed and harrowed to regain fertility for a crop
-
(of an idea, state of mind, etc) undeveloped or inactive, but potentially useful
noun
verb
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of fallow1
1275–1325; Middle English falwe; compare Old English fealga, plural of *fealh, as gloss of Medieval Latin occas harrows
Origin of fallow2
before 1000; Middle English fal ( o ) we, Old English fealu; cognate with German falb
Explanation
Something that is fallow is left unused. If you’re smart but lazy, someone might say you have a fallow mind. We use the word to talk about any unused resource, it started as a work about land. Fallow comes from the old English word for plowing, and refers to the practice of leaving fields unplowed in rotation — when a field lies fallow, the soil regains nutrients that are sucked up by over-planting.
Vocabulary lists containing fallow
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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Down on the Farm
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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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.
Fallow periods often lead to renewal, and that is the case for Weyerhaeuser stock—especially for investors seeking income over a long period.
From Barron's • Dec. 5, 2025
Katie Fallow, a senior counsel for the Knight Institute who brought the suit against Trump, said something along the same lines.
From Slate • Nov. 1, 2023
Fallow deer, a symbol of Rhodes, were found lying dead on the roadside.
From Seattle Times • Aug. 4, 2023
Katie Fallow, a lawyer with the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, which had sued Mr. Trump, said in a statement that the question the justices agreed to decide had only become more pressing.
From New York Times • Apr. 24, 2023
Our proof sheet came out with the message, "We Can Fallow!"
From Land of the Burnt Thigh by Voorhies, Stephen J.
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.
