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
Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 16 Dec. 2025
The rhythm of nature is an extraordinary teacher; there is a time to be fallow and there is a time to be ripe.
—Bhanuj Kappal, Vogue, 15 Nov. 2025
Coral Davenport, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2023
Thirsty cities increasingly look to farmers willing to fallow their fields and redirect water to urban centers.
—Joshua Partlow, Brady Dennis and Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 4 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Adjective
Honestly, the best chance a song might have is coming out strong next year during a fallow chart period and just dominating for over 20 weeks.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 16 Dec. 2025
The rhythm of nature is an extraordinary teacher; there is a time to be fallow and there is a time to be ripe.
—Bhanuj Kappal, Vogue, 15 Nov. 2025
Verb
Growers across the state, particularly in the Central Valley, reached a deal with the state to sharply restrict their water use and fallow their fields.
—Coral Davenport, New York Times, 29 Dec. 2023
Thirsty cities increasingly look to farmers willing to fallow their fields and redirect water to urban centers.
—Joshua Partlow, Brady Dennis and Isaac Stanley-Becker, The Washington Post, Anchorage Daily News, 4 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallow
Adjective
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But when the Chinese government outlawed private tutoring in 2021, Q Kids went dormant.—
Kathy Kristof,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 Apr. 2026
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Encephalitis can also lay dormant, with Edwards never having a cold sore herself, the outlet added.—
Adam England,
PEOPLE,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Simply scatter the tiny seeds on the soil surface and gently rake them around.—
Cori Sears,
The Spruce,
7 Apr. 2026
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Drake continued to rake and Chris continued to set sail as the Braves eased past the visiting Athletics 5-1 on Wednesday at Truist Park.—
Chad Bishop,
AJC.com,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Numerous designers, including Alessandro Michele and the late Vivienne Westwood, have credited the Queen as an inspiration, not least for the kind of sturdy, tweedy daywear shown in a section devoted to her off-duty garments.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
-
Or book a court at the Prospect Park Tennis Center at an off hour.—
The Editors,
Curbed,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The $10 general admission during the Lilac Festival on weekends includes petting zoo, lilac maze, hoe down & jug band shows, lawn games, and lilac viewing.—
Linda Mcintosh,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
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Such haphazardly and closely planted crops could not be hoed, so other plants and grasses grew with the grain on the ridges.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Producers then planned to move the show into a vacant 42nd Street building that once housed New York’s Playboy Club, but after extensive renovations that turned the venue into a working Nashville-style honky-tonk bar, the run was scotched days before previews were to begin last March.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
16 Apr. 2026
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City workers began cleaning up a North Hollywood nuisance property on Thursday, after neighbors complained for a decade about the vacant residential lot where a home once stood.—
Julie Sharp,
CBS News,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
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By Friday afternoon, Swalwell’s campaign website wasn’t listing endorsements or taking donations.—
John Woolfolk,
Mercury News,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Short-term rentals in Washington County Karl Matz is listing his lakefront property on Canonsburg Lake on Airbnb, joining many short-term rental hosts across Washington County.—
Meghan Schiller,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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With the Predators loss, the idle Anaheim Ducks clinched a playoff berth for the first time since 2018.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
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That is not a picture of an institution sitting Scrooge McDuck-style on idle cash.—
Marc Joffe,
Daily News,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
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
-
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 19 Apr. 2026.
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