farm out

British  

verb

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

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

3. 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)

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farm out Idioms  

1. 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]

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Example Sentences

Otherwise the private-equity sponsor is motivated to endlessly pump out investments to farm out to the insurance industry.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 26, 2026

Ubisoft's restructuring will farm out many of its dozens of studios worldwide into an industry-first system of five "creative houses", each dedicated to developing a different genre of game.

From Barron's • Jan. 21, 2026

I was a kid that was raised on a farm out in the Midwest, and living in nature was very much part of my upbringing.

From Salon • Dec. 21, 2023

The cuts led to rumors that 343 would farm out development of the Halo series to other game companies.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 31, 2023

I was off the farm, out from under the criticism.

From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

Related Words

• hire out
• rent out
• subcontract
• sublet