mown

[mohn]

verb

a past participle of mow¹.

Related formsun·mown, adjective

mow

[moh]

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,
1. to destroy or kill indiscriminately or in great numbers, as troops in battle.
2. to defeat, overwhelm, or overcome: The team mowed down its first four opponents.
3. to knock down.

Origin of mow

before 900; Middle English mowen, Old English māwan; cognate with German mähen

mow

[mou]

noun

the place in a barn where hay, sheaves of grain, etc., are stored.
a heap or pile of hay or of sheaves of grain in a barn.

verb (used with object)

Chiefly Northern and North Midland U.S. to store (hay) in a barn.

Origin of mow

before 900; Middle English mow(e), Old English mūwa, mūha, mūga; cognate with Old Norse mūgi swath

mow

or mowe

[mou, moh]Archaic.

noun

a wry or derisive grimace.

verb (used without object)

to make mows, mouths, or grimaces.

Origin of mow

1275–1325; Middle English mowe < Middle French moue lip, pout, Old French moe < Frankish; akin to Middle Dutch mouwe protruded lip

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for mown

trim, shear, crop, clip, scythe, sickle

Examples from the Web for mown

Historical Examples of mown

Whole streets of houses were mown down by the flaming scythe.
Plotting in Pirate Seas
Francis Rolt-Wheeler
Heads and limbs will fall, mown down like ripe ears at the reaping!
The Brass Bell
Eugne Sue
Unable to get within range themselves, they were mown down in lines.
Our Soldiers
W.H.G. Kingston
Weeds that are but mown, come up afterwards only the more vigorously.
Aurelian
William Ware
The song of the nightingale ceases about the time that the grass is mown.
Gryll Grange
Thomas Love Peacock

British Dictionary definitions for mown

mown

verb

a past participle of mow 1

mow

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 Formsmower, noun

Word Origin for mow

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

mow

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

mow

noun, verb

an archaic word for grimace

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

Word Origin and History for mown

mow

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

"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.