farm
Americannoun
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a tract of land, usually with a house, barn, silo, etc., on which crops and often livestock are raised for livelihood.
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land or water devoted to the raising of animals, fish, plants, etc..
a pig farm;
an oyster farm;
a tree farm.
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a site, usually commercial, where a product is manufactured or cultivated.
a cheese farm;
a honey farm.
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the system, method, or act of collecting revenue by leasing a territory in districts.
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a country or district leased for the collection of revenue.
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a fixed yearly amount payment of money or goods, accepted in lieu of taxes owed.
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a tract of land on which an industrial function is carried out, such as the drilling or storage of oil or the generation of electricity by solar power.
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Informal: Often Disparaging and Offensive. a place or business that serves a specified type of client or customer.
Sending people to so-called fat farms rarely increases their health.
Gone are the days when inpatient mental health care was commonly referred to as the “funny farm.”
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a business or place that turns out specified products or services in the manner of a factory; a mill.
an online content farm.
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English History.
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the rent or income from leased property.
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the condition of being leased at a fixed rent; possession under lease; a lease.
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Also called farm team,. Also called 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.
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Obsolete. a fixed yearly amount payable in the form of rent, taxes, or the like.
verb (used with object)
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to cultivate (land).
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to raise (animals, fish, plants, etc.) on land or in water.
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to take the proceeds or profits of (a tax, undertaking, etc.) on paying a fixed sum.
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to let or lease (taxes, revenues, an enterprise, etc.) to another for a fixed sum or a percentage (often followed byout ).
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to let or lease the labor or services of (a person) for hire.
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to contract for the maintenance of (a person, institution, etc.).
The county farms its poor.
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(in a video game) to collect (valuable items) for a character’s use or to sell in the game’s virtual economy by repeatedly performing a task for a reward or killing an enemy for a dropped item.
I farm crafting supplies just to sell them at the auction house.
verb (used without object)
verb phrase
idioms
noun
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a tract of land, usually with house and buildings, cultivated as a unit or used to rear livestock
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( as modifier )
farm produce
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( in combination )
farmland
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a unit of land or water devoted to the growing or rearing of some particular type of vegetable, fruit, animal, or fish
a fish farm
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an installation for storage
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a district of which one or more taxes are leased
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history
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a fixed sum paid by an individual or group for the right of collecting and retaining taxes, rents, etc
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a fixed sum paid regularly by a town, county, etc, in lieu of taxes
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the leasing of a source of revenue to an individual or group
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a fixed tax, rent, etc, paid regularly
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verb
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(tr)
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to cultivate (land)
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to rear (stock, etc) on a farm
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(intr) to engage in agricultural work, esp as a way of life
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(tr) to look after a child for a fixed sum
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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
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to operate (a franchise) under similar conditions
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Usage
What is a farm? A farm is a plot of land that is used to grow crops and raise livestock, as in On our farm, we raise sheep and sell their wool. The word farm is also used as a verb to mean to work land to grow crops or to raise animals. Farms can be found in nearly every country with land suitable for growing things or feeding animals. A farm usually includes a house where the owner, their family, and their workers live and other buildings, such as a barn to house animals and a silo to store feed or harvested crops. In this same sense, farm means to cultivate the land of a farm or to raise animals on a farm, as in He farms chickens and cows for a living. Often, another word is used with farm to note what kind of crops or animals are found at a given farm. For example, a chicken farm would focus on raising chickens, while a potato farm would be dedicated to growing potatoes. A farm may also be an area of water used to raise fish, aquatic plants, or aquatic animals. For example, you could own a salmon farm where you raise salmon in tanks or enclosed ponds to be sold as food. Example: My grandfather owns a dairy farm where he raises cows and sells milk.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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minifarmnoun
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superfarmnoun
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farmableadjective
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nonfarmadjective
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profarmadjective
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unfarmableadjective
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unfarmedadjective
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well-farmedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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farmsimple
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farmssimple
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have farmedperfect
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has farmedperfect
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am farmingprogressive
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are farmingprogressive
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is farmingprogressive
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have been farmingperfect progressive
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has been farmingperfect progressive
Past
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farmedsimple
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had farmedperfect
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was farmingprogressive
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were farmingprogressive
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had been farmingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of farm
First recorded in 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 firm 1
Explanation
A farm is a plot of land that's used for growing food crops or raising livestock. A dairy farm might have cows and fields of grass for them to eat. Some farms consist of barns or other buildings, greenhouses, and fields. Small farms often grow a variety of vegetables and raise small numbers of animals such as egg-laying hens and dairy goats. Large farms frequently focus on one crop and operate like factories. To work on a farm is to farm. In the 15th century, to farm was "to rent land," from the Anglo-French ferme, "a lease," from the Latin firmare, "to fix, settle, or strengthen."
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:
Shock guessed they’d smell like forgotten meat in a broken freezer or animal remains on a farm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
"We don't want them getting up at 5 in the morning to check their livestock and finding that their herd of sheep has been dispersed and there's animal carcasses across the farm."
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
Earlier this week, the head of a local village committee told Chinese media that around 800 to 900 snakes escaped after a breeding farm was washed away in Hengzhou city.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
Her mother was raised on a farm in Mexico, and her father moved from Tijuana to Los Angeles to be near her mother, who started working for a family in Sherman Oaks at 16.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
The sisters’ presence near Hydesville encouraged daily crowds, who rode out to gawk at the original Fox cottage, then continue on to David’s farm to see the Fox girls in person.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
The 12-acre, “majestically landscaped” equestrian estate sits on a 194-acre community of horse farms.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 13, 2026
It handles design, permitting, transportation and installation but farms the construction to large producers such as Champion Homes, a manufacturer that works with multiple retailers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
Robot rentals are becoming available for anything from a day to years for a variety of purposes, from Moxi's hospital deliveries to robot bartenders or autonomous weeders for farms.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2026
The growing population turned Loudoun County into an agritourism hub, evident today in its many farm-based breweries, vineyards and cut-flower farms, according to Kathy Dixon of the Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
The residents immediately became squatters, scrambling up the steep hillsides to remake their homes and farms on land they didn’t own.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Certain snake species are farmed in China for traditional medicine, meat and anti-venom.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
For more than 30 years, Mora has farmed in Central Valley.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026
I was on Oakland Green Farm in Loudoun County, Va., a property that nine generations of the same family have farmed since the early 1700s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Grilled "kabayaki" using fully farmed eel will be sold from May 29 at a department store in Tokyo and several other outlets including online shops in Japan.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
Some stayed in the village and farmed, but most disappeared, courtesy of Jack of Diamonds.
From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo
In California, the rollback could pave the way for more farming, mining, logging and drilling in areas that were once forbidden due to the potential for wildlife habitat destruction.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
Pig farming is an unsupported part of the agricultural industry, which means they do not receive any government subsidies.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
By gaining a better understanding of how chemicals such as sulfoxaflor influence bee biology, researchers hope to develop farming practices that protect crops while also safeguarding the pollinators that many food systems depend on.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
The Legambiente non-government group said that agricultural engineering has not kept pace with climate change and that farming needs a new transformation.
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
It was important to him that his children experience the hard work of farming, and the family spent the summer and school holidays there.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
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.
