harrow

1 of 3

verb (1)

har·​row ˈher-(ˌ)ō How to pronounce harrow (audio)
ˈha-(ˌ)rō
harrowed; harrowing; harrows
Synonyms of harrownext

transitive verb

archaic
: pillage, plunder
long harrowed by oppressor's hand— Sir Walter Scott

harrow

2 of 3

noun

: a cultivating tool set with spikes, teeth, or disks and used primarily for breaking up and smoothing the soil

harrow

3 of 3

verb (2)

harrowed; harrowing; harrows

transitive verb

1
: to cultivate with a harrow (see harrow entry 2)
harrow the fields
2
: torment, vex
harrowed by war
has not set out to appall the reader with horrors nor to harrow him with miseries— Douglas Stewart
harrower
ˈher-ə-wər How to pronounce harrow (audio)
ˈha-rə-
noun

Synonyms

Verb (2)

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of harrow in a Sentence

Verb (2) the villagers were gaunt and sickly, harrowed by years of disease and starvation
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Verb
The research fellow who met me, Birte, was in her forties, and appeared as if she had been harrowed by her work. — John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Verb (1)

Middle English herwen, harwen — more at harry

Note: See note at harry.

Noun

Middle English harewe, harwe, harow, of uncertain origin

Note: The Oxford English Dictionary, first edition, suggests inheritance from an unattested Old English *hearwe or *hearge, though the Middle English word is perhaps more likely a loan from Old Norse, despite the phonetic objections—compare Norwegian harv, horv "harrow," Swedish harv, Danish harve, Old Icelandic herfi. The further origin of the Scandinavian word is unclear. G. Kroonen, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Brill, 2013) suggests as an etymon *harbō, akin to *harbjan- "to pluck" (whence, allegedly, Norwegian dialect herva "to snatch"), akin to Germanic *harbista- "autumn" and Latin carpere "to pluck, pick, gather" (see harvest entry 1). A harrow, however, is not a tool for plucking or gathering.

Verb (2)

Middle English harwen, harowen, derivative of harwe, harow harrow entry 2

First Known Use

Verb (1)

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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

Phrases Containing harrow

Rhymes for harrow

See All Rhymes for harrow

Browse Nearby Words

Harrovian
harrow
Harrow
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Cite this Entry

“Harrow.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harrow. Accessed 18 Apr. 2025.

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Kids Definition

harrow

1 of 2 noun
har·​row ˈhar-ō How to pronounce harrow (audio)
: a cultivating tool that has spikes, teeth, or disks and is used for breaking up and smoothing the soil

harrow

2 of 2 verb
1
: to cultivate with a harrow
2
: torment entry 2, vex
harrower noun

Geographical Definition

Harrow

geographical name

Har·​row ˈha-(ˌ)rō How to pronounce Harrow (audio)
borough of northwestern Greater London, England population 241,000

More from Merriam-Webster on harrow

Nglish: Translation of harrow for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about harrow

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