sheaf

sheaf

noun \ˈshēf\

plural sheaves\ˈshēvz\

Definition of SHEAF

1

: a quantity of the stalks and ears of a cereal grass or sometimes other plant material bound together

2

: something resembling a sheaf of grain <a sheaf of papers>

3

: a large amount or number <won a sheaf of awards>

— sheaf·like \ˈshēf-ˌlīk\ adjective

Examples of SHEAF

1. <contends that casino gambling would generate a sheaf of social problems for the state>

Origin of SHEAF

Middle English sheef, from Old English scēaf; akin to Old High German scoub sheaf, Russian chub forelock

First Known Use: before 12th century

Related to SHEAF

Synonyms: abundance, barrel, basketful, boatload, bucket, bunch, bundle, bushel, carload, chunk, deal, dozen, fistful, gobs, good deal, heap, hundred, lashings (also lashins) [chiefly British], loads, mass, mess, mountain, much, multiplicity, myriad, oodles, pack, passel, peck, pile, plateful, plenitude, plentitude, plenty, pot, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, lot, shipload, sight, slew, spate, stack, store, ton, truckload, volume, wad, wealth, yard

Antonyms: ace, bit, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, handful, hint, lick, little, mite, mouthful, nip, ounce, peanuts, pinch, pittance, scruple, shade, shadow, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), speck, spot, sprinkle, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, taste, touch, trace

Related Words: epidemic, plague, rash; bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, plethora, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus; deluge, flood, overflow; army, bevy, cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host, legion, mob, multitude, press, score, sea, swarm, throng; gazillion, jillion, kazillion, million, thousands, trillion, zillion

Near Antonyms: atom, crumb, dot, fleck, flyspeck, fragment, grain, granule, iota, jot, modicum, molecule, mote, nubbin, particle, ray, scintilla, scrap, shred, tittle, whit; smatter, smattering; dash, drop, morsel, shot; piece, portion, section; absence, dearth, famine, lack, paucity, poverty, scarceness, scarcity, shortage, undersupply, want; deficiency, deficit, inadequacy, insufficiency, meagerness, scantiness, scantness, skimpiness

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Other Agriculture/Gardening Terms

fallow, graft, heirloom, loam, potash, soilage, swath, tilth, windfall

Rhymes with SHEAF

beef, brief, chief, fief, grief, kef, leaf, lief, reef, thief