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farm

[fahrm]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR farm ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a tract of land, usually with a house, barn, silo, etc., on which crops and often livestock are raised for livelihood.

land or water devoted to the raising of animals, fish, plants, etc.: a pig farm; an oyster farm; a tree farm.

a similar, usually commercial, site where a product is manufactured or cultivated: a cheese farm; a honey farm.

the system, method, or act of collecting revenue by leasing a territory in districts.

a country or district leased for the collection of revenue.

a fixed yearly amount accepted from a person in view of local or district taxes that he or she is authorized to collect.

a tract of land on which an industrial function is carried out, as the drilling or storage of oil or the generation of electricity by solar power.

English History.

the rent or income from leased property.
the condition of being leased at a fixed rent; possession under lease; a lease.

Also called farm team, farm club. Chiefly Baseball. a team in a minor league that is owned by or affiliated with a major-league team, for training or keeping players until ready or needed.

Obsolete. a fixed yearly amount payable in the form of rent, taxes, or the like.

verb (used with object)

to cultivate (land).

to raise (animals, fish, plants, etc.) on land or in water.

to take the proceeds or profits of (a tax, undertaking, etc.) on paying a fixed sum.

to let or lease (taxes, revenues, an enterprise, etc.) to another for a fixed sum or a percentage (often followed by out).

to let or lease the labor or services of (a person) for hire.

to contract for the maintenance of (a person, institution, etc.): a county that farms its poor.

verb (used without object)

to cultivate the soil; operate a farm.

Verb Phrases

farm out,

to assign (work, privileges, or the like) to another by financial agreement; subcontract; lease: The busy shipyard farmed out two construction jobs to a smaller yard.
to assign the care of (a child or dependent person) to another: She farms her elderly aunt out to a retired nurse during the workweek.
Chiefly Baseball.to assign (a player) to a farm.
to exhaust (farmland) by overcropping.
to drill (oil or gas wells), especially by subcontract on land owned or leased by another.

Idioms

buy the farm, Slang. to die or be killed.

Origin of farm

1250–1300; Middle English ferme “lease, rented land, rent,” from Anglo-French, Old French, from Vulgar Latin ferma (unattested), derivative of fermāre (unattested) for Latin firmāre “to make firm, confirm”; see firm¹

Related formsfarm·a·ble, adjectivemin·i·farm, nounnon·farm, adjectivepro·farm, adjectivesu·per·farm, nounun·farm·a·ble, adjectiveun·farmed, adjectivewell-farmed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for farm out

subcontract, sublet, farm, job

British Dictionary definitions for farm out

farm out

verb (tr, adverb)

to send (work) to be done by another person, firm, etc; subcontract

to put (a child, etc) into the care of a private individual; foster

to lease to another for a rent or fee the right to operate (a business for profit, land, etc) or the right to collect (taxes)

farm

noun

a tract of land, usually with house and buildings, cultivated as a unit or used to rear livestock
(as modifier)farm produce
(in combination)farmland

a unit of land or water devoted to the growing or rearing of some particular type of vegetable, fruit, animal, or fisha fish farm

an installation for storage

a district of which one or more taxes are leased

history

a fixed sum paid by an individual or group for the right of collecting and retaining taxes, rents, etc
a fixed sum paid regularly by a town, county, etc, in lieu of taxes
the leasing of a source of revenue to an individual or group
a fixed tax, rent, etc, paid regularly

verb

(tr)

to cultivate (land)
to rear (stock, etc) on a farm

(intr) to engage in agricultural work, esp as a way of life

(tr) to look after a child for a fixed sum

to collect the moneys due and retain the profits from (a tax district, business, etc) for a specified period on payment of a sum or sums
to operate (a franchise) under similar conditions

See also farm out

Derived Formsfarmable, adjective

Word Origin for farm

C13: from Old French ferme rented land, ultimately from Latin firmāre to settle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for farm out

farm

n.

c.1300, "fixed payment (usually in exchange for taxes collected, etc.), fixed rent," from Old French ferme "rent, lease," from Medieval Latin firma "fixed payment," from Latin firmare "to fix, settle, confirm, strengthen," from firmus "firm" (see firm (adj.)).

Sense of "tract of leased land" is first recorded early 14c.; that of "cultivated land" (leased or not) is 1520s. Phrase buy the farm "die in battle," is at least from World War II, perhaps a cynical reference to the draftee's dream of getting out of the war and going home, in many cases to a peaceful farmstead. But fetch the farm is prisoner slang from at least 1879 for "get sent to the infirmary," with reference to the better diet and lighter duties there.

farm

v.

mid-15c., "to rent (land)," from Anglo-French fermer, from ferme (see farm (n.)). The agricultural sense is from 1719. Original sense is retained in to farm out.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Idioms and Phrases with farm out

farm out

Assign something to an outsider; subcontract something. For example, The contractor was so busy he had to farm out two jobs to a colleague, or When their mother was hospitalized, the children had to be farmed out to the nearest relatives. This term originally referred to letting or leasing land. Today it usually refers to subcontracting work or the care of a dependent to another. In baseball it means “to assign a player to a lesser (farm) league,” as opposed to a big league. [Mid-1600s]

farm

In addition to the idiom beginning with farm

farm out

also see:

buy it (the farm)

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.