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:
Acme was filmed right as the steeply indebted Warner Bros. was merging with Zaslav’s Discovery Inc.; it then fell prey to the new CEO’s scythe.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2026
Alright, I’m paraphrasing, but it’s true: A deluge of new franchise installments hitting theaters every year is as sure of a bet as gambling that the grim reaper’s scythe will be razor-sharp.
From Salon ● Jan. 3, 2025
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
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
Like the simplest of human tools—hammer, scythe, bellows, ladder, scissors—the function of the molecule can be entirely comprehended from its structure.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Monumental scythes through what will feel like a small town come race day.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026
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
Thanksgiving holiday scythes volumes later but there was plenty to keep them busy while they did it.
From Reuters ● Nov. 23, 2023
Farmers harvest with scythes; at Victor’s, I was handed a pair of injury-proof scissors.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 22, 2022
Rowan almost made the mistake of giving the list of parameters to the Thunderhead and asking it for a subject—until he remembered that asking the Thunderhead for assistance was strictly forbidden for scythes.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Then in early September, the Houthis scythed through the Red Sea port of Mokha, along with Dhubab, Bab el-Mandeb and Perim Island.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 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
It got worse for Barcelona as Araujo's frustrations got the better of him and he scythed down Vinicius to earn himself a second yellow card with 20 minutes remaining.
From BBC ● Jan. 14, 2024
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
Thanksgiving holiday scything volumes but there was plenty to keep them busy while they did it.
From Reuters ● Nov. 23, 2023
Webb then produced a moment of brilliance with a scything break from a ruck before releasing Faletau for his score.
From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2023
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
During those four weeks in Carthage, McCandless worked hard, doing dirty, tedious jobs that nobody else wanted to tackle: mucking out warehouses, exterminating vermin, painting, scything weeds.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
