mow

¹

[ moh ]

verb (used with object)

, mowed, mowed or mown, mow·ing.

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 or mown, mow·ing.

1. to cut down grass, grain, etc.

verb phrase

1. 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, mow·ing.

1. to make mows, mouths, or grimaces.

mow

¹

/ maʊ /

noun

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

mow

²

/ 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

³

/ maʊ /

noun

1. an archaic word for grimace

Derived Forms

• ˈmower, 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 mūwa; compare Old Norse mūgr heap, Greek mukōn

Origin of mow²

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

Origin of mow³

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

Example Sentences

Tomorrow, I have written down to mow the grass.

From Salon

“They’re very engaged, very highly Hispanic,” Duarte said of the voters he was targeting in what he called an “aspirational neighborhood,” where “lawns are mowed, cars are clean, the houses aren’t real big.”

From Los Angeles Times

Weaver is not to be confused with Yankees closer Luke Weaver, whose star has risen this year as he mows down batters and screams on the mound.

From Los Angeles Times

Besides, El Toro will forever live in my mind, his eyes looking up to the heavens as he mowed down opponents like a bull in the streets of Pamplona.

From Los Angeles Times

Israel even has a grim term for it: “mowing the grass.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• shear
• trim