harvest

1 of 2

noun

har·​vest ˈhär-vəst How to pronounce harvest (audio)
often attributive
1
: the season for gathering in agricultural crops
the beginning of the harvest
2
: the act or process of gathering in a crop
assisting neighbors in their harvest
3
a
: a mature crop (as of grain or fruit) : yield
bountiful harvests
b
: the quantity of a natural product gathered in a single season
the salmon harvest
timber harvests
4
: an accumulated store or productive result
a harvest of revenue

harvest

2 of 2

verb

harvested; harvesting; harvests

transitive verb

1
a
: to gather in (a crop) : reap
harvesting corn
b
: to gather, catch, hunt, or kill (salmon, oysters, deer, etc.) for human use, sport, or population control
c
: to remove or extract (something, such as living cells, tissues, or organs) from culture (see culture entry 1 sense 3) or from a living or recently deceased body especially for transplanting
2
a
: to accumulate a store of
has now harvested this new generation's scholarly laborsM. J. Wiener
b
: to win by achievement
the team harvested several awards

intransitive verb

: to gather in a crop especially for food
sold it standing in the field to save himself the trouble of harvestingPearl Buck
harvestable adjective
harvester noun

Examples of harvest in a Sentence

Noun The beginning of the harvest varies from year to year. It is time for the harvest. They prayed for a bountiful harvest. We had enormous harvests of corn this year. Verb It is time to harvest the wheat. They want to harvest timber in these woods.
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.
Noun
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, which regulates fishing activity in the Southern Ocean, failed at a meeting last October to renew a key measure aimed at preventing excessive krill harvests in any one area. Gabe Castro-Root, Smithsonian Magazine, 11 Mar. 2025 There is a legacy out there of bad harvests and tough winters that by some alchemy brings out the best in people, reminds them to be friendly and kind, and put others first. Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 11 Mar. 2025
Verb
Various herb and vegetable planters are design elements, but are also harvested and incorporated into menu dishes. Rachel Dube, Forbes, 13 Mar. 2025 In fact, Indigenous peoples taught the settlers how to harvest and concentrate the sweet sap of the sugar maples that grow across northeastern Canada and the United States. Debbie Olsen, AFAR Media, 13 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for harvest

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English hervest, from Old English hærfest; akin to Latin carpere to pluck, gather, Greek karpos fruit

First Known Use

Noun

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

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Harvest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harvest. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

Kids Definition

harvest

1 of 2 noun
har·​vest ˈhär-vəst How to pronounce harvest (audio)
1
: the season when crops are gathered
2
: the gathering of a crop
3
: a ripe crop (as of grain or fruit)
also : the quantity of a crop gathered in a single season

harvest

2 of 2 verb
1
: to gather in a crop : reap
2
: to gather as if by harvesting
harvest timber

More from Merriam-Webster on harvest

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!