farm

[fahrm]

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 farmed

meadow, lawn, estate, orchard, ranch, acreage, plantation, field, nursery, grassland, pasture, garden, homestead, plow, reap, tend, graze, sow, cultivate, operate

Examples from the Web for farmed

Contemporary Examples of farmed

His daddy was a drinker, not much for raising kids, so Johnny was farmed off to an uncle, Joe France, the toughest rancher around.
The Ballad of Johnny France
Richard Ben Cramer
January 12, 2014
“In the 60s we had quite a large area that we farmed and hired people to help,” said Doris.
The Texas Drought Seen Firsthand from the Eyes of Ranchers
Malcolm Jones
August 9, 2012
There is a suggestion that the investigation of the case was farmed out to a "neutral" province to depoliticize the process.
Will Gu Kailai Get the Death Penalty?
The Telegraph
July 27, 2012
Instead, the work of canine acting was farmed out to other German Shepherds.
Must Love Dogs
Adam Auriemma
September 30, 2011
He served in the Air Force and then came home and farmed cotton.
The Texas Steamroller's Next Move
Mark McKinnon
March 3, 2010

Historical Examples of farmed

It tells us of the various classes who peopled the village and farmed its fields.
English Villages
P. H. Ditchfield
The fate of illegitimate children who are "farmed out" is still worse.
The Sexual Question
August Forel
I told him that most of masculine Denboro fished or farmed or kept store.
The Rise of Roscoe Paine
Joseph C. Lincoln
Then came the peasants who farmed the land of an owner, but these were few.
The Story of Russia
R. Van Bergen, M.A.
McRae farmed last year at Louisville, Ala. the year just closing.
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 7, 1922
Various

British Dictionary definitions for farmed

farmed

adjective

(of fish and game) reared on a farm rather than caught in the wild

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

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 farmed

farm

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

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.

Idioms and Phrases with farmed

farm

In addition to the idiom beginning with farm

farm out

also see:

buy it (the farm)