mow

¹ American  

[moh] / moʊ /

verb (used with object)

mowed, mowed, mown, mowing

1. to cut down (grass, grain, etc.) with a scythe or a machine.

2. to cut grass, grain, etc., from.

   to mow the lawn.

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verb (used without object)

mowed, mowed, mown, mowing

1. to cut down grass, grain, etc.

verb phrase

1. 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.

mow ² American  

[mau] / maʊ /

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.

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verb (used with object)

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

mow ³ American  

[mau, moh] / maʊ, moʊ /

Or mowe

noun

1. a wry or derisive grimace.

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verb (used without object)

mowed, mowing

1. to make mows, mouths, or grimaces.

mow ¹ British  

/ məʊ /

verb

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)

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mow ² British  

/ maʊ /

noun

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

2. the hay, straw, etc, stored

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mow ³ British  

/ maʊ /

noun

1. an archaic word for grimace

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Other Word Forms

• mower
  noun

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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”

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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

See Examples For:

mow mowed mowing mown

Suppose you pay a lawn service $20 an hour to mow.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026

By then, Kent had already earned the trust of neighbors who hired him to mow their lawns or babysit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 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

Residents who live in the vicinity of Church Pulverbatch Parish Council in Shropshire have spent the past year sowing wildflower meadows and encouraging no mow areas.

From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026

You could practically measure the growing, especially—as Joe complained—when you had to mow the grass, and especially—as Daddy said—when you had to keep after the weeds in a garden.

From "Miracles on Maple Hill" by Virginia Sorensen

He mowed down the Dodgers with 11 strikeouts, limiting them to just five hits in nine innings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

We both cooked, kept house, made beds, shoveled snow, mowed the lawn, handled the finances, and bought, built or leased the 11 different homes we lived in before retiring.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

They mowed it, raked it and planted herbs and wildflowers, a London tribunal heard.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 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

I follow his gaze, taking in the freshly mowed fields and soccer goals and boys.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli

Did he say anything truly new at this fundraiser, like that he thinks James Talarico is a pretty good guy or that he enjoys wearing dresses when mowing the lawn?

From Slate ● Oct. 10, 2026

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

Unlike renting, homeownership can come with new responsibilities like mowing the lawn — and new expenses like homeowners association fees.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 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

His eyes linger on the deep red permanent sunburn of Apa’s neck from mowing lawns all day.

From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na

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

A bunker is to the right, but it’s otherwise closely mown turf that allows for options on a recovery shot.

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

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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