mow

¹

[moh]

verb (used with object)

mowed, mowed, mown, mowing. 

1. to cut down (grass, grain, etc.) with a scythe or a machine.

2. to cut grass, grain, etc., from.

   to mow the lawn.

verb (used without object)

mowed, mowed, mown, mowing. 

1. to cut down grass, grain, etc.

verb phrase

1. mow down

   1. to destroy or kill indiscriminately or in great numbers, as troops in battle.

   2. to defeat, overwhelm, or overcome.

      The team mowed down its first four opponents.

   3. to knock down.

mow

²

[mou]

noun

1. a heap or pile of hay or of sheaves of grain in a barn.

2. the place in a barn where hay, sheaves of grain, etc., are stored.

verb (used with object)

1. Chiefly Northern and North Midland U.S.,  to store (hay) in a barn.

mow

³

Or mowe

[mou, moh]

noun

1. a wry or derisive grimace.

verb (used without object)

mowed, mowing 

1. to make mows, mouths, or grimaces.

mow

¹

/ məʊ /

verb

1. to cut down (grass, crops, etc) with a hand implement or machine

2. (tr) to cut the growing vegetation of (a field, lawn, etc)

mow

²

/ maʊ /

noun

1. the part of a barn where hay, straw, etc, is stored

2. the hay, straw, etc, stored

mow

³

/ maʊ /

noun

1. an archaic word for grimace

Other Word Forms

• mower noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of mow¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English mowen, mouwen “to stack hay or grain,” Old English māwan “to mow;” cognate with Old Frisian mīa, German mähen

Origin of mow²

First recorded before 900; Middle English mow(e), mou, moghe, Old English mūga, mūha, mūwa “a heap or stack of grain”; cognate with Old Norse mūgi “swath”

Origin of mow³

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English moue, mouwe, mouhe, from Middle French moue “lip, pout,” Old French möe, from Frankish; akin to Middle Dutch mouwe “protruding lip”

Word History and Origins

Origin of mow¹

Old English māwan; related to Old High German māen, Middle Dutch maeyen to mow, Latin metere to reap, Welsh medi

Origin of mow²

Old English mūwa; compare Old Norse mūgr heap, Greek mukōn

Origin of mow³

C14: from Old French moe a pout, or Middle Dutch mouwe

Example Sentences

But mowing doesn’t completely destroy the grasses; it just gives them a haircut.

From Los Angeles Times

But no such luck — the adjacent grassy areas managed by the National Park Service obviously hadn’t been mowed in months, yet another reminder of what the regime’s priorities are.

From Salon

Tom mowed lawns, washed cars and ran a lemonade stand.

From Los Angeles Times

He reconsidered his opinion in 2021, writing for Salon that “Trumpism has become terrifyingly proud of its capacity to mow down democratic norms and resculpt them into steaming piles of excrement.”

From Salon

“They can mow down a kelp forest and then actually remain in that ecosystem without a food source,” said Prentice, a marine biologist and study co-author.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• shear 
• trim