harvest

[ hahr-vist ]

noun

1. the gathering of crops:

   Drought has delayed the harvest of corn, peanuts, potatoes, and other vegetables.

2. the season when ripened crops are gathered:

   All through springtime, summer, and harvest, she waited for him.

3. a crop or yield of one growing season:

   Our blackberries are on track to meet or exceed last year's harvest of 30 lbs.

4. a supply of anything gathered at maturity and stored:

   The silos held an abundant harvest of wheat.

5. the taking or removal of animals to be killed for food or other uses:

   Some have called the harvest of nautilus shells for jewelry and ornaments a “horrendous slaughter.”

6. the collection of any resource for future use:

   Rules were established to limit the harvest of forest resources for fuel and building materials.

7. the extraction of an organ or tissue from a body for the purpose of transplant or scientific research:

   The new method could improve the harvest of stem cells from umbilical cord blood.

8. the result or consequence of any act, process, or event:

   The journey yielded a harvest of wonderful memories.

   Synonyms: return, product, collection, accumulation

verb (used with object)

1. to gather (a crop or the like); reap:

   It’s time to harvest the corn.

2. to gather the crop from:

   The farmer hired a few day laborers to help harvest his fields.

3. to gain, win, or use (a prize, product, or result of any past act, process, etc.):

   The country hopes to harvest dividends from staging a problem-free Olympics next year.

4. to catch, take, or remove (animals), especially for food:

   Fishermen harvested hundreds of salmon from the river.

5. to collect (any resource) for future use:

   to harvest solar energy;

   spammers who harvest email addresses.

6. to extract (an organ or tissue) from a living or dead body, as for transplantation or research:

   to harvest a kidney;

   to harvest embryos.

verb (used without object)

1. to gather a crop; reap:

   We saw whole families out in the fields, harvesting.

harvest

/ ˈhɑːvɪst /

noun

1. the gathering of a ripened crop
2. the crop itself or the yield from it in a single growing season
3. the season for gathering crops
4. the product of an effort, action, etc

   a harvest of love

verb

1. to gather or reap (a ripened crop) from (the place where it has been growing)
2. tr to receive or reap (benefits, consequences, etc)
3. tr to remove (an organ) from the body for transplantation

Derived Forms

• ˈharvesting, noun
• ˈharvestless, adjective

Other Words From

• har·vest·a·ble adjective
• har·vest·a·bil·i·ty [hahr-vis-t, uh, -, bil, -i-tee], noun
• har·vest·less adjective
• half-har·vest·ed adjective
• post·har·vest adjective
• pre·har·vest noun
• re·har·vest verb
• un·har·vest·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of harvest¹

First recorded before 950; Middle English; Old English hærfest; cognate with German Herbst “autumn”; akin to Greek karpós “fruit,” Latin carpere “to pluck” ( carpe diem, carpel )

Word History and Origins

Origin of harvest¹

Old English hærfest; related to Old Norse harfr harrow, Old High German herbist autumn, Latin carpere to pluck, Greek karpos fruit, Sanskrit krpāna shears

Example Sentences

A major cause of the smog is the fires which are caused by the burning of stubble after harvest by farmers in both Pakistan and India - a quick way to clear their fields ready for the next crops.

From BBC

Brazil, in particular, may see a pronounced uptick in soybean and corn production, as favorable conditions allow Brazilian farmers to harvest both crops within a single year.

From Salon

I used mine to cut a bouquet outside, deftly harvest some green beans, lemons and eggplants, and even cut finger-sized branches with ease.

From Los Angeles Times

The Mount Washington–based nursery is offering two classes for beginning gardeners starting in February — one explaining how to grow cannabis at home and the other how to harvest it; both are taught by educator Emily Gogol, chief executive of Grow It From Home, an Oregon-based company that sells mail-order cannabis seeds and plants the same way other nurseries sell veggie starts.

From Los Angeles Times

Every fall, Mary Bull prepares for the olive harvest at her small-scale permaculture farm, Chalice Farm, in Sonoma County, California.

From Salon

Related Words

• accumulate
• amass
• collect
• gather
• hoard
• mow
• pick
• pluck
• reap
• take in