mow
1 Americanverb (used with object)
-
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)
verb phrase
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)
noun
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to cut down (grass, crops, etc) with a hand implement or machine
-
(tr) to cut the growing vegetation of (a field, lawn, etc)
noun
-
the part of a barn where hay, straw, etc, is stored
-
the hay, straw, etc, stored
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of mow1
First recorded before 900; Middle English mowen, mouwen “to stack hay or grain,” Old English māwan “to mow;” cognate with Old Frisian mīa, German mähen
Origin of mow2
First 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”
Origin of mow3
First 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”
Explanation
When you clip grass or other plants, you mow it. If you realize your front lawn is taller than your dog, it might be time to mow it. People with grassy lawns usually mow them throughout the growing season, keeping them neatly trimmed and green. Farmers mow some food crops and hay as well, when they're ready to be harvested, although they use different tools to do it, including a curved blade called a scythe. An old-fashioned meaning of mow is "a stack of hay," or "a place where hay is stored."
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:
No one showed up to mow the field this week, coach Noel Padilla said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
Humorist Will Rogers famously joked to President Calvin Coolidge: "If that was my lake, I'd mow it."
From Science Daily ● Jun. 18, 2026
"But if there isn't this conversation and they are going to continue to mow down these efforts, it's really demoralising."
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
In exchange, "they don't have to mow as often", to ensure the panels function properly, but also, and more importantly, to comply with bushfire prevention regulations.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
I liked to mow patterns or pictures in the grass and had just finished the outline of something that looked like the Sphinx from the Lost Worlds book when Dad strolled out toward me.
From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos
He mowed down the Dodgers with 11 strikeouts, limiting them to just five hits in nine innings.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
They mowed it, raked it and planted herbs and wildflowers, a London tribunal heard.
From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026
In recent days, software stocks and other risky assets have been mowed down by artificial intelligence, but stodgier stocks are springing up to replace them among the market’s leaders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
Adjessom was a student at Davidson High School, and loved ones describe him as a good-natured and generous teen who mowed his neighbors’ lawns on the weekends.
From Slate ● Oct. 23, 2025
And I remembered that I mowed the lawn that day for my allowance just like I shovel the driveway for my allowance now.
From "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
He starts preparing for winter, ponders his stamp collection, checks the schedule for the garbage disposal and considers mowing the lawn.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Touch some grass: From the archives: Ben Mathis-Lilley examines the pleasures and benefits of getting out and mowing the lawn.
From Slate ● Aug. 27, 2026
"Stop doing things that are gonna cause sparks. I can't believe someone was mowing."
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
For the tourists' benefit, Vlkolinec puts on traditional craft demonstrations, from sewing folk costumes and gingerbread decorating to mowing and haymaking.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Our neighbor Mr. Spencer was out mowing his lawn and threw a nod in my direction.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
"In the past it was just a field that was mown, whereas now we've got this beautiful landscape with all the seeded grasses," Brooks said.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
So if it’s a grass buffer, it must be mown and kept to a certain standard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2025
The green is large and has a large expanse of closely mown turf to the left.
From Washington Times ● Jun. 10, 2023
On the par-5 12th, he smashed his drive 376 yards and rolled in a 30-foot putt from off the green on the tightly mown turf.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 22, 2022
Outside the air smells summery, of mown grass and warm tar, and from somewhere high in the trees I hear a woodpecker rapping.
From "Rules" by Cynthia Lord
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.
