thresh

[ thresh ]

verb (used with object)

1. to separate the grain or seeds from (a cereal plant or the like) by some mechanical means, as by beating with a flail or by the action of a threshing machine.
2. to beat as if with a flail.

verb (used without object)

1. to thresh wheat, grain, etc.
2. to deliver blows as if with a flail.

noun

1. the act of threshing.

verb phrase

1. thrash ( def 12 ).

thresh

/ θrɛʃ /

verb

1. to beat or rub stalks of ripe corn or a similar crop either with a hand implement or a machine to separate the grain from the husks and straw
2. tr to beat or strike
3. introften foll byabout to toss and turn; thrash

noun

1. the act of threshing

Other Words From

• re·thresh verb (used with object)
• un·threshed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of thresh¹

before 900; Middle English threschen, thresshen, Old English threscan; cognate with German dreschen, Gothic thriskan; akin to Dutch dorsen, Old Norse thriskja

Word History and Origins

Origin of thresh¹

Old English threscan; related to Gothic thriskan, Old Norse thriskja; see thrash

Example Sentences

The Taklamakan Desert was a vast floor of threshing dust.

From Literature

It takes a village, not a threshing machine, to complete the harvest of pounds of watermelon seeds that will fill the simple, white packets sold by Turtle Tree Seed.

From New York Times

She downloaded the book’s audio version and listened to it as she drove her 25-ton John Deere combine through her fields, reaping, threshing and winnowing hundreds of bushels.

From Seattle Times

Adelaide connects socially with men who work the land as cowboys or on threshing crews.

From Washington Post

The country’s military is rejiggering some of its munitions factories to produce tractors and threshing machines, while also converting some airfields into greenhouses.

From New York Times