mow

1
[ moh ]
See synonyms for mow on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),mowed, mowed or mown, mow·ing.
  1. to cut down (grass, grain, etc.) with a scythe or a machine.

  2. to cut grass, grain, etc., from: to mow the lawn.

verb (used without object),mowed, mowed or mown, mow·ing.
  1. to cut down grass, grain, etc.

Verb Phrases
  1. 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 mow

1
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

Other definitions for mow (2 of 3)

mow2
[ mou ]

noun
  1. a heap or pile of hay or of sheaves of grain in a barn.

  2. the place in a barn where hay, sheaves of grain, etc., are stored.

verb (used with object)
  1. Chiefly Northern and North Midland U.S. to store (hay) in a barn.

Origin of mow

2
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”

Other definitions for mow (3 of 3)

mow3

or mowe

[ mou, moh ]

noun
  1. a wry or derisive grimace.

verb (used without object),mowed, mow·ing.
  1. to make mows, mouths, or grimaces.

Origin of mow

3
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”

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use mow in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mow (1 of 3)

mow1

/ (məʊ) /


verbmows, mowing, mowed, mowed or mown
  1. to cut down (grass, crops, etc) with a hand implement or machine

  2. (tr) to cut the growing vegetation of (a field, lawn, etc)

Origin of mow

1
Old English māwan; related to Old High German māen, Middle Dutch maeyen to mow, Latin metere to reap, Welsh medi

Derived forms of mow

  • mower, noun

British Dictionary definitions for mow (2 of 3)

mow2

/ (maʊ) /


noun
  1. the part of a barn where hay, straw, etc, is stored

  2. the hay, straw, etc, stored

Origin of mow

2
Old English mūwa; compare Old Norse mūgr heap, Greek mukōn

British Dictionary definitions for mow (3 of 3)

mow3

/ (maʊ) /


noun, verb
  1. an archaic word for grimace

Origin of mow

3
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