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:
At the center of it all is Brent Charles’ sinewy Caius Martius Coriolanus, who runs through the play like a human scythe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
He also cut the hay at the end of summer, initially trying with a scythe - Poldark-style - but ultimately finding a small tractor does the trick in a less backbreaking way.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2025
Now, no matter how fast we run, the grim reaper’s scythe is still inches from our heels.
From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2025
He took up a scythe against the Confederate walking dead in “Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies,” also from 2012.
From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2024
It was as if a black-waved, frozen sea had been sliced by a scythe, forming black, solid walls along a jelled path.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
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
A few villagers described the then-prince inviting dozens of them to the guesthouse where he oversaw grass-cutting competitions, a centuries-old tradition in Transylvania involving scythes and a lot of frenetic arm sweeping.
From New York Times ● May 1, 2023
He actually used the word “victim,” which immediately soured the scythes.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
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
Sakala tried to escape Stewart on the left only to be scythed down by the defender.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2023
The long grass had to be scythed and hoed under.
From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park
An occasional scything wind flapped the flags flying at half-staff.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 8, 2025
The school has been without a gym since Hurricane Laura made landfall in August 2020 with 150-mile-an-hour winds and a tidal surge that reached 17 feet before scything through the state’s western and central parishes.
From New York Times ● Mar. 8, 2022
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.
