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:
Suppose you pay a lawn service $20 an hour to mow.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
No one showed up to mow the field this week, coach Noel Padilla said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026
"I just felt bad having to mow in certain areas," Morse said.
From Science Daily ● May 28, 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
“This is why you wanted me to mow the corn, right?”
From "Dead End in Norvelt" by Jack Gantos
Volunteers who spent hours planting 30,000 bulbs in a Bristol park say they were left in "disbelief" after council workers mowed over them just days later.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 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
They have mowed down the Cincinnati Reds, the Philadelphia Phillies and the Brewers with ruthless efficiency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2025
In 1950, nearly three in five black women in Montgomery, Alabama’s capital city, worked as maids for white families, and almost three-quarters of employed black men mowed lawns and did other kinds of unskilled labor.
From "Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice" by Phillip Hoose
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
Unlike renting, homeownership can come with new responsibilities like mowing the lawn — and new expenses like homeowners association fees.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
In case you’ve forgotten, mowing the lawn was central to Boehner’s everyman image when he was in office.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 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
Babysitting and tutoring and doing other kids’ homework and mowing lawns and redeeming bottles and selling scrap metal didn’t count.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
So if it’s a grass buffer, it must be mown and kept to a certain standard.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2025
A Scottish cycling charity is backing calls for more responsible use of e-bikes after a cyclist claimed he was mown down by a food delivery driver.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2023
Some greens have deep rough on one side and closely mown areas on the other that send balls rolling some 20 yards away.
From Washington Times ● May 17, 2023
Hughes sent his approach long on the 18th and faced a difficult putt up closely mown grass to a green and raced away from him.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 1, 2022
No houses had been built, but the lots were marked with surveying stakes, and the grass was freshly mown.
From "Paper Towns" by John Green
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