glean

play

verb \ˈglēn\

Definition of glean

intransitive verb
1 : to gather grain or other produce left by reapers
2 : to gather information or material bit by bit
transitive verb
1a : to pick up after a reaperb : to strip of the leavings of reapers glean a field
2a : to gather (something, such as information) bit by bit can glean secrets from his hard driveb : to pick over in search of relevant material gleaning old files for information
3 : find out The police used old-fashioned detective work to glean his whereabouts.

gleanable

play \ˈglē-nə-bəl\ adjective

gleaner

noun

See glean defined for English-language learners

See glean defined for kids

glean was our Word of the Day on 02/29/2016. Hear the podcast!

Examples of glean in a Sentence

She gleaned her data from various studies.
He has a collection of antique tools gleaned from flea markets and garage sales.
They spent days gleaning the files for information.
They spent hours gleaning in the wheat fields.
gleaning stray ears of corn

Recent Examples of glean from the Web

The information the team gleaned will be used to further develop the weapon, known simply as a High Energy Laser, or HEL.

— derek hawkins, Alaska Dispatch News, "Laser-equipped Army helicopter zaps its first target, contractor says", 27 June 2017
Script Small Caps Defaults Done Needless to say, the game was a total writeoff for the Sounders in being able to glean anything productive about what occured during their 2-1 loss to New York City FC.

— geoff baker, The Seattle Times, "Sounders look to regroup and revamp after dismal weather game in New York", 19 June 2017
Herewith, some facts and insights gleaned from a long lunch with the adorable, bristly-haired, Lillian-Hoban-drawing-like actor.

— david kamp, HWD, "All You Need to Know About Adam Scott, Die-Hard R.E.M Fan and Ensemble Comedy Standout", 19 June 2017
Meanwhile, AXS noted that its personalized recommendations for events will be gleaned from data that includes listening behavior, artist preferences and user location and will be flagged to users of Spotify’s desktop or mobile app.

— billboard staff, Billboard, "Spotify Partners With AXS and Eventbrite to Offer Personalized Event Recommendations and Ticket Purchases (Updated)", 15 June 2017
The estate's architectural elements were gleaned from all over.

— roxanne washington, cleveland.com, "Cool Spaces: David and Carol Geyer are enjoying life in an estate once owned by John Sherwin Sr. (photos)", 14 June 2017
While media access to on-field work is limited to three total days of OTAs, enough information has been gleaned to set the table for the mandatory three-day mandatory minicamp on June 13-15.

— herbie teope, NOLA.com, "Saints enter final week of OTAs: Chat with Herbie Teope at 1 p.m.", 5 June 2017
The keenest signal of how the Warriors view the Cavaliers now could be gleaned from that one number, four.

— adam kilgore, chicagotribune.com, "One stat shows how badly the Warriors want to crush the Cavaliers", 2 June 2017
The two most widely cited are Census data, gleaned from the Current Population Survey, and the Election Day exit polls conducted outside polling places around the country by Edison Research for a consortium of news organizations.

— ronald brownstein, The Atlantic, "Are Demographics Really Destiny for the GOP?", 31 May 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'glean'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The Grainy History of glean

Glean comes from Middle English glenen, which traces to Anglo-French glener, meaning "to glean." The French borrowed their word from Late Latin glennare, which also means "to glean" and is itself of Celtic origin. Both the grain-gathering sense and the collecting-bit-by-bit senses of our glean date back at least to the 14th century. Over the years, and especially in the 20th and 21st centuries, glean has also come to be used frequently with the meaning "to find out, learn, ascertain." This sense has been criticized by folks who think glean should always imply the drudgery involved in the literal grain-gathering sense, but it is well established and perfectly valid.

Origin and Etymology of glean

Middle English glenen, from Anglo-French glener, from Late Latin glennare, of Celtic origin; akin to Old Irish doglenn he selects

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First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

GLEAN Defined for English Language Learners

glean

play

verb

Definition of glean for English Language Learners

: to gather or collect (something) in a gradual way
: to search (something) carefully
: to gather grain or other material that is left after the main crop has been gathered