Mow Meaning
/ˈməʊ̯/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
verbTo cut down grass or crops.
verbTo cut down or slaughter in great numbers.
Sentence Examples
He was a benevolent old man who volunteered to mow his neighbors' lawns for free.
Let's take advantage of the vacation to mow the lawn.
In summer we have to mow the lawn twice a week.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
Every Saturday, John uses a machine to ____ the grass in his yard.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I need to ____ the grass in the back garden this weekend before the weeds start to grow too tall and ruin the entire look of the lawn.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English mowen (participle mowen), from Old English māwan (past tense mēow, past participle māwen), from Proto-West Germanic *māan, from Proto-Germanic *mēaną, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂meh₁- (“to mow, reap”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian mjo (“to mow”), Dutch maaien (“to mow”), German mähen (“to mow”), Luxembourgish méien (“to mow”), Danish meje (“to mow”), Swedish meja (“to mow”); see also Hittite [script needed] (ḫamešḫa, “spring/early summer”, literally “mowing time”), Latin metō (“to harvest, mow”), Ancient Greek ἀμάω (amáō, “to mow”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Just let me wake up in the morning to the smell of new-mown hay."
— 1969, “Skyline Pigeon”, in Bernie Taupin (lyrics), Elton John (music), Empty Sky, performed by Elton John:
"In the afternoon they attacked again, in close formation: our artillery mowed them, but they came on and on, […]"
— 1915, Captain Robert Palmer, Letters from Mesopotamia:
"On the one hand, we had a scenario where, effectively, the American admiral just went "You know what, all the destroyers attack", at which point they mowed through the Japanese destroyers like a Grim Reaper through a harvest of very, very dead gorn, especially with the Brooklyns in support."
— 2019 March 6, Drachinifel, 25:58 from the start, in The Battle of Samar (Alternate History) - Bring on the Battleships!, archived from the original on 04 Jul 2022:
"At times, they seemed to be playing an especially orgiastic version of Stick Cricket, all computerised mows over midwicket and 30 off the over."
— 2015, Lawrence Booth, The Shorter Wisden 2015:
"Make mows at him."
— c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Every Saturday, John uses a machine to ____ the grass in his yard.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I need to ____ the grass in the back garden this weekend before the weeds start to grow too tall and ruin the entire look of the lawn.