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
Colbi Edmonds, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Jan. 2026
That means 2025 is well and redeemed at the domestic box office, despite long, slow stretches, and a worryingly fallow summer.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 2025
Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 8 Jan. 2026
Already, Reynolds has seen California officials incentivize farmers to fallow their land — that is, leave it unplanted to preserve water resources.
—Manola Secaira, NPR, 9 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Adjective
Its search comes as the city of Clearwater grapples with how to draw visitors to its quiet downtown, where entities connected to the Church of Scientology have snapped up prime real estate and left it fallow.
—Colbi Edmonds, The Orlando Sentinel, 1 Jan. 2026
That means 2025 is well and redeemed at the domestic box office, despite long, slow stretches, and a worryingly fallow summer.
—Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Dec. 2025
Verb
As part of the settlement, Riverview has agreed to fallow 2,000 acres of farmland in the Sulphur Springs Valley to reduce groundwater usage and conserve more water for the future, Mayes said.
—Center Square, The Washington Examiner, 8 Jan. 2026
Already, Reynolds has seen California officials incentivize farmers to fallow their land — that is, leave it unplanted to preserve water resources.
—Manola Secaira, NPR, 9 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallow
Adjective
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Featuring aching, ferocious performances from Emmy winners Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson, Camp Miasma imagines the resurrection of a dormant slasher franchise.—
David Canfield,
HollywoodReporter,
11 May 2026
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Friends since first grade and bandmates since high school, the two 32-year-old Rogers Park natives and founding members of the then-dormant Chicago indie-rock band Twin Peaks weren’t at the Pilsen venue scouting locations for a potential reformation.—
Blair R. Fischer,
Chicago Tribune,
11 May 2026
Verb
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Tourists and scientists want to know On Thursday, three tractors spent more than an hour raking the beach at South Pointe Park in Miami Beach as beachgoers weaved around them, stepping over thick piles of sargassum that turned the shoreline water a murky brown.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
9 May 2026
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Prepare the planting bed by removing weeds and raking the soil even.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
4 May 2026
Adjective
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Beyond that Constitutional requirement, Census numbers and their off-year demographic studies are used for a wide range of research and economic reports.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
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The apparent demise of the Voting Rights Act and its immediate effects come after almost a year of extraordinary off-cycle attempts to gerrymander maps around the country.—
Hanna Rosin,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2026
Verb
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These should be relatively easy to hoe out and dispose of.—
Laura Simpson,
Oc Register,
11 Apr. 2026
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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
Adjective
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But during a time when Detroit officials had verifiable data on formerly vacant homes and buildings being redeveloped into housing, they were frustrated that Census population estimates did not align with local data.—
Paula Wethington,
CBS News,
14 May 2026
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Whatever the case may be, don’t let your shoes spend too long vacant on the porch.—
Hallie Milstein,
Southern Living,
14 May 2026
Verb
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Businessman and real estate agent Dan Thornberg has an intriguing sales pitch for a house he’s just listed.—
Pamela McLoughlin,
Hartford Courant,
12 May 2026
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Department web pages list program outcomes—syllabi often will list the specific learning outcomes.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
New Yorker,
12 May 2026
Adjective
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The plane to be used to repatriate Dutch and other nationals stands idle at the Tenerife Sur-Reina Sofia Airport awaiting evacuees from the Hondius on Sunday.—
Phil Helsel,
NBC news,
10 May 2026
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The deflating defeat, narrated by an intermittent cascade of boos, rendered their record the worst in baseball at 7-16 and suddenly a half-game lousier than the idle New York Mets.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
8 May 2026
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 17 May. 2026.
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