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

Verb (1) you really should mow the lawn before it gets much higher an afternoon spent mowing hay Noun (2) her mow suggested that she wasn't looking forward to a long evening of political speeches
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
Two easy ways to ensure the grass is mowed properly is, according to Cannon, to know the turf type and how much to mow and use a sharp mower blade to avoid tears or rips, which are basically open wounds on the plant. Lauren David, Southern Living, 27 Dec. 2024 Two weeks later, on June 16, Jelly Roll excitedly called Ray with a proposition as the Nashville area native, songwriter and construction company owner was on his tractor mowing the grass on his 30-acre property in Dickson, Tennessee, an hour west of Music City. Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 19 Nov. 2024 Maintain Your Yard Keep your grass mowed and shrubs trimmed to reduce tick habitats. Jake Parks, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2024 But, for the most part, Cole has been mowing Kansas City down, allowing just that run in his first six innings of work at the time of publishing. Ryan Morik, Fox News, 11 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for mow 

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 19 Jan. 2025.

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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