This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
mow
1[ moh ]
/ moʊ /
Save This Word!
This shows grade level based on the word's complexity.
verb (used with object), mowed, mowed or mown, mow·ing.
to cut down (grass, grain, etc.) with a scythe or a machine.
to cut grass, grain, etc., from: to mow the lawn.
verb (used without object), mowed, mowed or mown, mow·ing.
to cut down grass, grain, etc.
Verb Phrases
mow down,
- to destroy or kill indiscriminately or in great numbers, as troops in battle.
- to defeat, overwhelm, or overcome: The team mowed down its first four opponents.
- to knock down.
QUIZ
ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?
We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.
Question 1 of 8
Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?
Meet Grammar CoachImprove Your Writing
Origin of mow
1First recorded before 900; Middle English mowen, mouwen “to stack hay or grain,” Old English māwan “to mow;” cognate with Old Frisian mīa, German mähen
Words nearby mow
Other definitions for mow (2 of 3)
mow2
[ mou ]
/ maʊ /
noun
a heap or pile of hay or of sheaves of grain in a barn.
the place in a barn where hay, sheaves of grain, etc., are stored.
verb (used with object)
Chiefly Northern and North Midland U.S. to store (hay) in a barn.
Origin of mow
2First recorded before 900; Middle English mow(e), mou, moghe, Old English mūga, mūha, mūwa “a heap or stack of grain”; cognate with Old Norse mūgi “swath”
Other definitions for mow (3 of 3)
mow3
or mowe
[ mou, moh ]
/ maʊ, moʊ /
noun
a wry or derisive grimace.
verb (used without object), mowed, mow·ing.
to make mows, mouths, or grimaces.
Origin of mow
3First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English moue, mouwe, mouhe, from Middle French moue “lip, pout,” Old French möe, from Frankish; akin to Middle Dutch mouwe “protruding lip”
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021
How to use mow in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for mow (1 of 3)
mow1
/ (məʊ) /
verb mows, mowing, mowed, mowed or mown
to cut down (grass, crops, etc) with a hand implement or machine
(tr) to cut the growing vegetation of (a field, lawn, etc)
Derived forms of mow
mower, nounWord Origin for mow
Old English māwan; related to Old High German māen, Middle Dutch maeyen to mow, Latin metere to reap, Welsh medi
British Dictionary definitions for mow (2 of 3)
mow2
/ (maʊ) /
noun
the part of a barn where hay, straw, etc, is stored
the hay, straw, etc, stored
Word Origin for mow
Old English mūwa; compare Old Norse mūgr heap, Greek mukōn
British Dictionary definitions for mow (3 of 3)
Word Origin for mow
C14: from Old French moe a pout, or Middle Dutch mouwe
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