winter barley

American  

noun

1. barley that is planted in the autumn to be harvested in the spring or early summer.

---

Etymology

Origin of winter barley

First recorded in 1570–80

Example Sentences

High on the Marlborough Downs, Mike Wilkins was testing his winter barley when I met him, breaking off their ears and grinding them in a small machine to see how dry the grain is.

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2025

There are now winter barley programs at nearly every state in the country, said Ashley McFarland, the vice president and technical director of the American Malting Barley Association.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 11, 2023

Ukraine sowed about 4.1 million hectares of winter wheat for the 2023 harvest, while the area under winter barley stood at around 615,000 hectares.

From Reuters • Aug. 29, 2023

Will Faulds, an arable farmer just outside Ipswich who has crops of winter wheat, winter barley and oilseed rape, says "very simply it's brick dry".

From BBC • Jul. 29, 2022

The best nurse crops in the South include winter rye, winter barley and winter oats, even though the seed should not be sown on them until the spring.

From Clovers and How to Grow Them by Shaw, Thomas