harvest

[ hahr-vist ]

/ ˈhɑr vɪst /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR harvest ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Also har·vest·ing. the gathering of crops.

the season when ripened crops are gathered.

a crop or yield of one growing season.See Synonym Study at crop.

a supply of anything gathered at maturity and stored: a harvest of wheat.

the result or consequence of any act, process, or event: The journey yielded a harvest of wonderful memories.

verb (used with object)

to gather (a crop or the like); reap.

to gather the crop from: to harvest the fields.

to gain, win, or use (a prize, product, or result of any past act, process, etc.): She has finally harvested the rewards of her dedication.

to catch, take, or remove (animals), especially for food: Fishermen harvested hundreds of salmon from the river.

to collect (any resource) for future use: to harvest solar energy; spammers who harvest email addresses.

to extract (an organ or tissue) from a living or dead body, as for transplantation or research: to harvest a kidney; to harvest embryos.

verb (used without object)

to gather a crop; reap.

Nearby words

harvard chair, harvard classification, harvard frame, harvard, john, harve, harvest, harvest bug, harvest fish, harvest fly, harvest home, harvest index

Origin of harvest

before 950; Middle English; Old English hærfest; cognate with German Herbst “autumn”; akin to harrow¹

SYNONYMS FOR harvest

5 accumulation, collection, product, return, proceeds.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR harvest ON THESAURUS.COM

Related forms

har·vest·a·ble, adjectivehar·vest·a·bil·i·ty, nounhar·vest·less, adjectivehalf-har·vest·ed, adjective

post·har·vest, adjectivepre·har·vest, nounre·har·vest, verbun·har·vest·ed, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for harvest

These villages used to harvest rubber, cacao, palm oil, and coffee beans.
The Congo's Forgotten Colonial Getaway|Nina Strochlic|December 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Their “livelihoods and harvest,” as Brown describes it, were stripped away from them.
Deepwater Horizon: Life Drowning in Oil|Samuel Fragoso|November 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Everything in life, from governance to harvest to warfare, was suffused with sacred meaning until the advent of the Enlightenment.
Karen Armstrong’s New Rule: Religion Isn’t Responsible for Violence|Patricia Pearson|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Roberts estimated that close to 95 percent of all wineries have returned to harvest production.
Cleaning Up From Napa's Winepocalypse|Jordan Salcito|August 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The ancient Maya believed that the underworld of caves was home to gods that controlled rainfall and harvest bounties.
The Cave Where Mayans Sacrificed Humans Is Open for Visitors|Nina Strochlic|August 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The summer that followed was cold and ungenial, with easterly winds, though fortunately it brightened up somewhat for the harvest.
Nature Near London|Richard Jefferies
The festival to these gods of the harvest was in the month Mac, which occurred in the early spring.
American Hero-Myths|Daniel G. Brinton
Whatever is good for a harvest home celebration may be used to celebrate Thanksgiving.
Special Days and their Observance|Anonymous
When the harvest time arrives in December, each tenant carries his crop to the mill for grinding.
Alila, Our Little Philippine Cousin|Mary Hazelton Wade
Min, the god of Coptos and Panopolis (Akhmim), seems to have been early looked upon as a deity of the harvest and crops.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 1|Various

British Dictionary definitions for harvest

harvest

/ (ˈhɑːvɪst) /

noun

the gathering of a ripened crop

the crop itself or the yield from it in a single growing season

the season for gathering crops

the product of an effort, action, etca harvest of love

verb

to gather or reap (a ripened crop) from (the place where it has been growing)

(tr) to receive or reap (benefits, consequences, etc)

(tr) mainly US to remove (an organ) from the body for transplantation

Derived Formsharvesting, nounharvestless, adjective

Word Origin for harvest

Old English hærfest; related to Old Norse harfr harrow, Old High German herbist autumn, Latin carpere to pluck, Greek karpos fruit, Sanskrit krpāna shears

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 harvest (1 of 2)

harvest

Old English hærfest "autumn, period between August and November," from Proto-Germanic *harbitas (cf. Old Saxon hervist, Old Frisian and Dutch herfst, German Herbst "autumn," Old Norse haust "harvest"), from PIE *kerp- "to gather, pluck, harvest" (cf. Sanskrit krpana- "sword," krpani "shears;" Greek karpos "fruit," karpizomai "make harvest of;" Latin carpere "to cut, divide, pluck;" Lithuanian kerpu "cut;" Middle Irish cerbaim "cut").

The borrowing of autumn and the use of fall in a seasonal sense gradually focused the meaning of harvest to "the time of gathering crops" (mid-13c.), then to the action itself and the product of the action (after c.1300). Figurative use by 1530s. Harvest home (1590s) is the occasion of bringing home the last of the harvest; harvest moon (1706) is that which is full within a fortnight of the autumnal equinox.

Word Origin and History for harvest (1 of 2)

harvest

c.1400, from harvest (n.). Of wild animals, from 1947; of cells, from 1946. Related: Harvested; harvesting.

harvest

noun

verb (used with object)

verb (used without object)

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Nearby words

Origin of harvest

Examples from the Web for harvest

British Dictionary definitions for harvest

harvest

noun

verb

Word Origin for harvest

Word Origin and History for harvest (1 of 2)

harvest

Word Origin and History for harvest (1 of 2)

harvest