glean
Americanverb (used with object)
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to gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit.
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to gather small amounts of (grain or the like) left behind after a harvest, nowadays often for charitable use.
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to clear (a field, orchard, etc.) of leftover produce in this way.
Millet’s painting The Gleaners depicts three peasant women stooping low as they glean a field of wheat.
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to learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly.
verb (used without object)
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to collect or gather anything little by little or slowly.
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to gather what is left by reapers.
verb
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to gather (something) slowly and carefully in small pieces
to glean information from the newspapers
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to gather (the useful remnants of a crop) from the field after harvesting
Other Word Forms
- gleanable adjective
- gleaner noun
Etymology
Origin of glean
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English glenen, from Old French glener, from Late Latin glennāre, ultimately from Celtic
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.
In “Intentional,” Mr. Bailey offers science-based strategies—gleaned, he says, from thousands of research studies—for turning intention into action.
Just as AI can personalize the ads you see online, bad actors are using it to glean personal information that enables them to create custom-tailored scams quickly and on a large scale.
The drovers would forage along the way, picking berries, acorns and gleaning corn for the birds to eat.
From BBC
This was considered an honor, but Amy and I had an additional motive: We believed we would glean more from observing the friends they selected than we would from scouring their backpacks.
Thursday’s November report didn’t break down month-over-month changes for October and November for most items, making it difficult to glean insights into the economy’s recent performance.
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.
