as in dormant
not being in a state of use, activity, or employment
the coal mine has been lying fallow since the drop in prices made it unprofitable
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fallow
Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2023
Congress recently allocated $4 billion in drought funding that can be used to pay farmers to fallow their land and not use their water.
—Ben Tracy, Andy Bast, CBS News, 31 Jan. 2023
Tyler Jenke, Billboard, 14 Aug. 2025
Since the ground will be fallow until the spring, the incorporated manure will have ample time to work its way into the soil while any pathogens present die off.
—Anthony Reardon, Kansas City Star, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Adjective
Compromising probably would require money — perhaps tax money — to pay farmers to fallow their land and governments to build new canals and repair old ones.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2023
Congress recently allocated $4 billion in drought funding that can be used to pay farmers to fallow their land and not use their water.
—Ben Tracy, Andy Bast, CBS News, 31 Jan. 2023
Verb
The two-day multi-genre affair will take place at Adelaide’s Rymill & King Rodney Parks across the weekend of Oct. 25-26, having returned following a fallow year in 2024.
—Tyler Jenke, Billboard, 14 Aug. 2025
Since the ground will be fallow until the spring, the incorporated manure will have ample time to work its way into the soil while any pathogens present die off.
—Anthony Reardon, Kansas City Star, 25 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallow
Adjective
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Often when faced with a trauma, a redwood will swell a bank of dormant buds and woody tissue to create burls.—
Greg Sullivan,
AFAR Media,
15 Sep. 2025
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Note that plants go dormant in areas that experience hard freezes.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Using ironing cloths and a few leaves leftover from raking your yard, iron the leaves onto 8-by-8-inch squares of wax paper.—
Claire Hoppe Norgaard,
Better Homes & Gardens,
16 Sep. 2025
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Its intimate Clayes Theater has raked and very comfortable seating, so there’s great sightlines and not a bad seat in the house.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Though his request to play in Napa was denied, his off-course involvement is already proving to be a unifying force.—
Devlina Sarkar,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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However, he was involved in an off-field accident that forced the Royals to shift their pitching plans.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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One person whose voice stuck out for Fields-Black was Minus Hamilton, an 88-year-old who was hoeing the rice fields at the time of the raid.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
25 June 2025
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To stay on top of weeds, plan to hand-pull or hoe down weeds early in the season when their root systems are still small, and then spend a few minutes weeding each week.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 June 2025
Adjective
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In September 2022, schoolteacher Eliza Fletcher was kidnapped during an early morning run, and her body was later found near a vacant duplex.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Sep. 2025
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Each apartment was different from the next, and the vacant unit (one daughter retreated to a Greek island) had views of the sea.—
Keith Flanagan,
Architectural Digest,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The runners will be listed by post position with trainer, jockey, and morning line provided.—
Danny Brewer,
Forbes.com,
16 Sep. 2025
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Albert Ellis, the attorney listed for Reina in the civil case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
16 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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There’s some idle speculation in the films about where the Xenomorphs sit on the evolutionary ladder, and nearly every Alien story at some point deals with the question of whether synthetic creations care about their makers.—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
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The display can smartly scale down to 1Hz when idle and now comes with a new anti-reflective coating.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Before the big race, the track was harrowed, bringing it to a better and drier racing surface.—
John Cherwa,
Los Angeles Times,
7 June 2025
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The research fellow who met me, Birte, was in her forties, and appeared as if she had been harrowed by her work.—
John Ganz,
Harper's Magazine,
22 May 2024
Cite this Entry
“Fallow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fallow. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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