mow

1 of 4

noun (1)

1
: a piled-up stack (as of hay or fodder)
also : a pile of hay or grain in a barn
2
: the part of a barn where hay or straw is stored

mow

2 of 4

verb (1)

mowed; mowed or mown ˈmōn How to pronounce mow (audio) ; mowing

transitive verb

1
a
: to cut down with a scythe or sickle or machine
b
: to cut the standing herbage (such as grass) of
mow the lawn
2
a(1)
: to kill or destroy in great numbers or mercilessly
machine guns mowed down the enemy
(2)
: to cause to fall : knock down
b
: to overcome swiftly and decisively : rout
mowed down the opposing team

intransitive verb

: to cut down standing herbage (such as grass)
mower noun
mowed; mowing; mows

intransitive verb

: to make grimaces

Examples of mow in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Monday was the first full day of spring, and warm weather will likely remind many that its time for the first mow. Sean McDonnell, cleveland, 22 Mar. 2022 Learn more and and purchase tickets at www.alaskabg.org Don’t rake or blow, mow: All the stuff blown down on the lawn is great microbe food. Jeff Lowenfels, Anchorage Daily News, 31 Aug. 2023 Rather than roaming in a random pattern, as most auto-mowers do, the Automower 415X mows in a stripe or checkerboard pattern, which will make your lawn look like professional landscapers have cared for it. Kate Morgan, Popular Mechanics, 25 May 2023 Once it's programmed, the robot goes out to mow, then returns to its charging station when there's a certain amount of battery life remaining, such as 10 or 15 percent. Arricca Elin Sansone, House Beautiful, 26 July 2023 For faster control without resorting to a burner or herbicide, mow or use a strong trimmer to cut the weeds close to the ground. Jeanne Huber, Washington Post, 1 June 2023 The plan that’s being developed will have to address this issue, but the reality is the options are few — mow, graze or burn — and none are easy to carry out or guaranteed to be effective. Jennifer Oldham, ProPublica, 12 May 2023 Anybody should be able to get behind any mower and mow safely without a lot of instruction. Roy Berendsohn, Popular Mechanics, 12 May 2023 To keep ticks at bay at home, trim brush, mow grass, and rake leaves on your property. Health Editorial Team, Health, 21 Apr. 2023
Verb
Clover will typically only reach six inches in height but can tolerate being mown to three inches if that’s a little scraggly looking for some. Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 12 Mar. 2024 Keep your yard well-maintained by regularly mowing the grass, removing debris and trimming vegetation. The Arizona Republic, 12 Mar. 2024 Five-bedroom homes overlook tranquil cul-de-sacs and freshly mowed lawns. Abigail Kramer, ProPublica, 3 Jan. 2024 Nowadays, these grounds are mowed just twice a year, and haven’t been doused with pesticides or rodenticides since 2018, which was when this 157-acre stretch of land stopped being the San Geronimo Golf Course, and began a journey toward becoming wild, or at least wilder, once again. Cara Buckley, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024 Atwater and his son were the last caretakers of the lot, mowing the grass and making sure the property taxes were paid. Ben Wieder, Miami Herald, 26 Jan. 2024 In October, a block away from where the brothers were killed, 15-year-old Felipe Manuel Infante-Avalos was in the crosswalk at East 110th and Main streets on his way home from school when a driver mowed him down. Rachel Uranga, Los Angeles Times, 25 Jan. 2024 In 2021, Chisholm acknowledged his agency erred when Darrell Brooks was released on $1,000 bail in a domestic violence case, five days before Brooks went to mow his vehicle into the 2021 Waukesha Christmas Parade, killing six people and injuring 60 more. Vanessa Swales, Journal Sentinel, 9 Jan. 2024 Mice and voles living on the land drew foxes and migratory raptors such as kestrels and harriers, who feasted on the cornucopia each time the grass was mowed. Cara Buckley, New York Times, 13 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mow.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

Middle English, heap, stack, from Old English mūga; akin to Old Norse mūgi heap

Verb (1)

Middle English mowen, going back to Old English māwan (past participle māwen), going back to West Germanic *mēan- (whence, with a differing hiatus consonant, Old Frisian miā, miān "to mow," Middle Dutch maeyen, Old High German *māen), going back to an Indo-European verbal base *h2meh1- "reap, mow," whence also Greek amáō, amân "to reap, cut" (perhaps from *h2mh1-eh2-)

Note: Old English māwan is a Class VII strong verb (like cnāwan know entry 1, blāwan blow entry 1), though a weak verb in later Middle and Modern English and in other Germanic languages. The element *-eh1- in *h2meh1- has been treated as a suffix, with a parallel derivative *h2m-et- yielding Italo-Celtic *met-, in Latin metō, metere "to reap, harvest, cut off," Welsh medaf, medi "to reap," Middle Breton midiff, Breton mediñ, Middle Irish meithel "reaping party," Welsh medel. Hittite hamešha(nt)- "spring, harvest time" has also been connected with *h2meh1-, though with some dispute. Cf. aftermath, meadow.

Noun (2)

Middle English mowe, from Anglo-French mouwe, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch mouwe protruding lip

First Known Use

Noun (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Noun (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mow was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near mow

Cite this Entry

“Mow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mow. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

mow

1 of 2 noun
1
: a stack of hay or straw
2
: the part of a barn where hay or straw is stored

mow

2 of 2 verb
mowed; mowed or mown ˈmōn How to pronounce mow (audio) ; mowing
1
: to cut down with a scythe or machine
mow hay
2
: to cut the standing leafy plant cover from
mow a lawn
3
: to kill or destroy in great numbers
4
: to overcome completely
mow down the other team
mower noun
Etymology

Noun

Old English mūga "heap, stack"

Verb

Old English māwan "to mow (as hay)"

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