glean
Americanverb (used with object)
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gleans,
present (3rd person singular)
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gleaned,
past participle, past
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gleaning
present participle
-
to gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit.
-
to gather small amounts of (grain or the like) left behind after a harvest, nowadays often for charitable use.
-
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)
-
gleans,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gleaned,
past participle, past
-
gleaning
present participle
-
to collect or gather anything little by little or slowly.
-
to gather what is left by reapers.
verb
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gleansimple
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gleanssimple
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have gleanedperfect
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has gleanedperfect
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am gleaningprogressive
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are gleaningprogressive
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is gleaningprogressive
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have been gleaningperfect progressive
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has been gleaningperfect progressive
Past
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gleanedsimple
-
had gleanedperfect
-
was gleaningprogressive
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were gleaningprogressive
-
had been gleaningperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of glean
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English glenen, from Old French glener, from Late Latin glennāre, ultimately from Celtic
Explanation
Glean means to gather bit by bit, either literally or figuratively. You might glean leftover grain from a recently harvested field or glean information about new vocabulary words by hearing them used in context. When you glean information, you sort through ideas and take what you need. Seeing a word in context lets you glean information about how it's used, for example. If you want to find treasures at a thrift shop, you’ll have to glean the good stuff out of the piles of junk. To glean a field means to walk along and see what’s left on the ground. It takes patience to glean.
Vocabulary lists containing glean
List 8
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "G"
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Scythe
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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:
But the company did not end up broadcasting Thursday’s event, leaving investors to glean information through scattered sources.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 4, 2026
Retailers including Target and Walmart will report earnings later this week, giving investors an opportunity to glean more on the health of U.S. consumers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
You always want your work to have impact, you want it to have meaning, you want people to glean something from it that’s relevant to their own lives.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
Through these former employees and their access to "sensitive projects, trusted partner relationships, proprietary manufacturing techniques, and unreleased products," Apple claims OpenAI has been able to glean details of its product plans and operations.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
It was the word Scythe Curie used to describe the people she chose to glean.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
And, who gets to monetize the insights that AI gleans?
From Barron's ● Nov. 26, 2025
Although his aunt and uncle make him spend most of his days reading, when he isn't bench-pressing the car in their yard, Cootie gleans some hints about how life works through TV.
From Salon ● Jun. 24, 2023
He also writes the newsletter “Humans Being,” which gleans life lessons from movies, books and television, for The Atlantic.
From New York Times ● Apr. 22, 2022
Commissioner Danielle Outlaw added that she will be “leaning on what the investigation gleans to answer unanswered questions.”
From Washington Times ● Oct. 28, 2020
“What if another scythe gleans her during the off years?”
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
"The defensive posture I have gleaned from the DA's statements leads me to believe that they recognise that there were failures and they are trying to excuse them," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
That’s my understanding that was gleaned from one of the juror notes.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
She’s extremely interested in the ways problematic movies can be reclaimed by the real-life minority figures depicted in them, and what can be gleaned from studying these films’ merits.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
When we come in with our insight that is gleaned from actual baristas all over the world, they tend to lean in and they tend to listen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
His bow was bent, but one gleaned arrow was all that he had left, and he peered out now, ready to shoot the first Orc that should dare to approach the stair.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Downstairs in the basement, a team of covert listeners followed their chatter, gleaning vital insights into Germany's war plans.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
Ultimately, gleaning what is happening in the brain could change anesthesia, helping it to be redesigned or personalized to more closely resemble natural sleep rather than a coma-like one, Helfrich said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
The drovers would forage along the way, picking berries, acorns and gleaning corn for the birds to eat.
From BBC ● Dec. 24, 2025
The skeptics in my life believe L’Belle-Tividad may just be really good at collecting information about people, gleaning details from other readings and our demographic data.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025
If gleaning Rowan would be the second most painful thing she’d ever do, Citra wondered what the most painful thing would be.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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.
