mow Hear it!

mow¹ Definition

mow (mō)

transitive verb, intransitive verb mowed, mowed or mown, mow′·ing

  1. to cut down (standing grass or grain) with a sickle, scythe, lawn mower, etc.
  2. to cut grass or grain from (a lawn, field, etc.)

Etymology: ME mowen < OE mawan, akin to Ger mähen < IE base *mē-, *met- > L metere, to mow

mow¹ Related Forms

mow′er noun

mow¹ Idioms

mow down

  1. to cause to fall like grass or grain being cut
  2. to kill or destroy as with swift, sudden strokes, gunfire, etc.
  3. to overwhelm (an opponent)

mow² Definition

mow (mo̵u)

noun

  1. a stack or heap of hay, grain, etc., esp. in a barn
  2. the part of a barn where hay or grain is stored; haymow or hayloft

Etymology: ME mowe < OE muga, a heap, pile, akin to ON mūgi, a crowd, swath < Gmc *mug- < IE base *muk-, heap > Gr mykōn

mow³ Definition

mow (mō, mo̵u)

noun, intransitive verb

Archaic grimace

Etymology: ME mowe < OFr moue < Frank *mauwa, akin to MDu mouwe: for IE base see mope

mow Synonyms

mow

n.

loft, hayloft, haymow, hay barn; see attic.

mow Synonyms

mow

v.

scythe, reap, lay in swaths; see harvest.

mow Usage Examples

Used with why or when

when: Set the cutting height at its maximum, and only mow when the grass is dry.

Object

  • lawn: Weed the garden, mow the lawn, empty the kitchen bucket!
  • grass: Site on mown grass more than 1 acre in size.
  • hay: David Beckham asking me to use Gillette blades to mow the facial hay.
  • meadow: Other customs were the strewing of hay or rushes, mowing meadows, or decorating wells with floral pictures.
  • turf: Tests are carried out in a number of areas including close mown fine turf.
  • verge: The cost of maintaining amenity grasslands and mown roadside verges has prompted authorities to find cheaper ways of managing these areas.

Preposition: on

basis: The banks of ditches can be scythed or mown on a rotational basis, always leaving some uncut areas.

Preposition: once

year: Certain routes may only get mown once a year and others more.

Modifying Another Word

  • freshly: A rough measurement of the speed of the freshly mown lawns was 9.9 seconds on the Plummer scale.
  • neatly: To allow them to be neatly mown obstructions should not be placed on the grass area.
  • regularly: Unfortunately, the land within Johnson's Field itself has been recently, regularly mown resulting in much of the interest there being lost.
  • twice: Clover they mow twice for hay, getting from 1?
  • newly: Just by trimming the edges a lawn can appear to be newly mown.
  • closely: Water Wise Tips Help the lawn through dry spells by mowing less closely.

Followed by an intransitive particle

down: They were mown down from the heights in narrow valleys with steep cliffs.

Followed by a transitive particle

down: I have been known to operate a motor vehicle without mowing people down in the streets.

Particle object:

  • pedestrian: Some of these games let you mow down pedestrians, but most just concentrate on the true driving experience.
  • passer-by: People do not shout and scream, or foam at the mouth, murder children or mow down passers-by during a panic.

Preposition: for

hay: Clover they mow twice for hay, getting from 1?