scythe
Americannoun
-
scythes
plural
verb (used with object)
-
scythes,
present (3rd person singular)
-
scythed,
past participle, past
-
scything
present participle
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
scythesimple
-
scythessimple
-
have scythedperfect
-
has scythedperfect
-
am scythingprogressive
-
are scythingprogressive
-
is scythingprogressive
-
have been scythingperfect progressive
-
has been scythingperfect progressive
Past
-
scythedsimple
-
had scythedperfect
-
was scythingprogressive
-
were scythingprogressive
-
had been scythingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of scythe
before 900; Middle English sith, Old English sīthe, earlier sigdi; cognate with Old Norse sigthr; spelling sc by pseudoetymological association with Latin scindere to cut or with scissors
Explanation
A scythe is a sharp, curved blade used for mowing or reaping. While farmers use it to cut plants, the grim reaper uses it to, well, scare you to death. In Old English, scythe was spelled siðe. Since there is no longer an ð in modern English, scythe became the accepted form of the word in the early 15th century. It drew its sc- start from the Latin scissor, meaning “carver, cutter.” Farmers use these tools to slice and trim grass and other plant stalks. Napoleon Bonaparte once noted that “Occupation is the scythe of time,” meaning that work mows down or diminishes time.
Vocabulary lists containing scythe
The Lightning Thief
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A Long Walk to Water
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Esperanza Rising
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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:
OK, Verstappen did not scythe through the group involving Yuki Tsunoda’s RB, Esteban Ocon’s Alpine and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc as quickly as he might have been expected to do.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2024
This year, the garden staff wielded a scythe, too.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 25, 2023
She quickly wields her talent for sizing up men like a scythe, cutting him off at the knees, or maybe a few inches higher, before he can further ruin her solace.
From Salon ● Feb. 27, 2023
Since taking over Twitter, Elon Musk has taken a scythe to the social network’s employee roll, in an increasingly severe campaign to slash costs.
From New York Times ● Feb. 27, 2023
A woman was in the kitchen downstairs, about to behead a coconut with a scythe.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Industries of textiles, or metalworkers making nails and scythes, were shaped like "factories without machines spread out over hundreds of households" according to Shaw-Taylor -- and increasingly produced goods for international markets.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 4, 2024
Using handmade scythes attached to the end of a long bamboo pole, they cut down the leaves at the top of the palms.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2024
Thanksgiving holiday scythes volumes later but there was plenty to keep them busy while they did it.
From Reuters ● Nov. 23, 2023
She was strong, she was beautiful, and she apparently had a chariot with scythes sticking out of the wheels.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2019
Still clutching the scythes, the massive golem came to a halt in front of Dale, looming over him.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
But West Ham's hopes of a comeback were dealt a blow when Diouf scythed down Dango Ouattara six minutes into the second period and Thiago sent keeper Mads Hermansen the wrong way from the spot.
From BBC ● May 2, 2026
Girona ended the game with 10 men when Roca scythed down Yamal to cut short a desperate Barca attack deep in stoppage time.
From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026
Nothing could have provided a more suitable host than an area of prairie where native grasses had been scythed away and the ground torn up by metal ploughshares and the hooves of a farmer’s horses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 17, 2025
Before the lawn mower was invented in 1830 to level off the surrounding field, gardens needed to stand head and shoulders above their scythed or grazed setting.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 20, 2023
The long grass had to be scythed and hoed under.
From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park
The visitors were playing the more expansive attacking rugby with full-back Yoshitaka Yazaki making a scything break only for Japan to knock on.
From BBC ● Nov. 15, 2025
An occasional scything wind flapped the flags flying at half-staff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2025
Raphinha converted his own penalty to give Leeds an early lead, only to concede a spot kick at the other end when scything down Toni Rudiger.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 11, 2021
They include stone lifting and dragging, wood chopping and sawing, scything and running with milk pails.
From Reuters ● Oct. 25, 2021
And he returned to his work scything the long grass.
From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
