glean

[ gleen ]

/ glin /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR glean ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit.

to gather (grain or the like) after the reapers or regular gatherers.

to learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly.

verb (used without object)

to collect or gather anything little by little or slowly.

to gather what is left by reapers.

Nearby words

glc, gld, gld., gleam, gleamy, glean, gleaning, gleanings, gleason, gleba, glebe

Origin of glean

1350–1400; Middle English glenen < Old French glener < Late Latin glennāre ≪ Celtic

SYNONYMS FOR glean

3 garner, deduce, infer.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR glean ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

glean·a·ble, adjectiveglean·er, nounun·gleaned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for glean

By presenting the data in a unified fashion, it makes it easier to glean insights.
The Best Quantified Self Site You Haven’t Heard Of|Jamie Todd Rubin|August 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And you might be able to glean some advance knowledge of new product launches or marketing campaigns.
McDonald’s Ditches Heinz To Keep Burger King Out of Its Business|Daniel Gross|October 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
But there are still many valuable insights that modern politicians can glean from his example.
Lincoln the Primitive Communicator? What He Can Teach Modern Politicians|Douglas L. Wilson|December 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
“They wanted to glean good ideas and figured their opponent the CIA was doing it, so they had to do it too,” Grady said.
The Novelist Who Spied: How Dennis Wheatley Helped Defeat the Nazis|Tina Rosenberg|August 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST

I also reread writers I admire, and try to glean a phrase or thought that will get me going.
Inside the NYT Book Review: ‘How I Write’ Interviews Sam Tanenhaus|Noah Charney|August 8, 2012|DAILY BEAST
We will glean some passages of this chapter which bear on his theory of descent.
Lamarck, the Founder of Evolution|Alpheus Spring Packard
From the little we can glean of them, the ancient inhabitants of the village must have been a grim old race.
Ocean to Ocean on Horseback|Willard Glazier
We may glean the nature of the verbal message from the letter itself.
The Mystery of Mary Stuart|Andrew Lang
This was when I came as a young man to glean engineering experience from the building of the breakwater.
Across the Plains|Robert Louis Stevenson
As far as I could glean from conversation with Americans, they seem themselves to anticipate anything but success.
Lands of the Slave and the Free|Henry A. Murray

British Dictionary definitions for glean

glean

/ (ɡliːn) /

verb

to gather (something) slowly and carefully in small piecesto glean information from the newspapers

to gather (the useful remnants of a crop) from the field after harvesting

Derived Forms

gleanable, adjectivegleaner, noun

Word Origin for glean

C14: from Old French glener, from Late Latin glennāre, probably of Celtic origin

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