mow1
- to cut down (grass, grain, etc.) with a scythe or a machine.
- to cut grass, grain, etc., from: to mow the lawn.
- to cut down grass, grain, etc.
- 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.
Origin of mow1
mow down
- (tr, adverb) to kill in large numbers, esp by gunfire
mow1
- to cut down (grass, crops, etc) with a hand implement or machine
- (tr) to cut the growing vegetation of (a field, lawn, etc)
Word Origin
mow2
- the part of a barn where hay, straw, etc, is stored
- the hay, straw, etc, stored
Word Origin
mow3
- an archaic word for grimace
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for mow down
mow
v.
Old English mawan "to mow" (class VII strong verb; past tense meow, past participle mawen), from Proto-Germanic *mæanan (cf. Middle Low German maeyen, Dutch maaien, Old High German maen, German mähen "to mow," Old English mæd "meadow"), from PIE root *me- "to mow, to cut down grass or grain with a sickle or scythe" (cf. poetic Greek amao, Latin metere "to reap, mow, crop," Italian mietere, Old Irish meithleorai "reapers," Welsh medi). Related: Mowed; mown; mowing.
mow
n.
"stack of hay," Old English muga, muwa "a heap, swath of corn, crowd of people," earlier muha, from Proto-Germanic *mugon (cf. Old Norse mugr "a heap," mostr "crowd"), of uncertain origin.
Idioms and Phrases with mow down
mow down
1
Destroy in great numbers, especially in battle, as in The machine gun mowed them down as they advanced. [Late 1500s]
2
Overwhelm, as in He mowed down the opposition with his arguments. This usage, like the first, alludes to mowing, the cutting of grass with a scythe or other implement.