glean

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

1 a :to pick up after a reaper

b :to strip of the leavings of reapers

glean a field

2 a :to gather (something, such as information) bit by bit

can glean secrets from his hard drive

b :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

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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

DeepMoji is still learning to glean emotion, and volunteers with an internet access can help it.

— max londberg, kansascity, "Machine brain that learns from emojis detects sarcasm better than humans," 9 Aug. 2017
What’s new is the form McGrath filled out and how hospitals are using the socioeconomic data the forms glean to serve patients.

— kristian foden-vencil, Kaiser Health News, "‘Bureaucratic Ninjas’ Slice Red-Tape To Battle Health Disparities," 7 Aug. 2017
Staff met with representatives from Irvine to glean insights on how its non-toxic pesticide program is working.

— ben brazil, Daily Pilot, "Huntington Beach considers reworking its midnight closing time law for some downtown businesses," 4 Aug. 2017
The Orange County district has gleaned an extra $32 million thanks to the formula since 2004 and isn’t pushing to change that component of the state’s funding formula.

— jason ruiter, OrlandoSentinel.com, "School officials fight over forking over money to wealthier districts," 22 July 2017
Yanamandra-Fisher will join other scientists here hoping to glean from the eclipse tantalizing insight into the sun’s mysteries.

— nicholas st. fleur, The Seattle Times, "College town in Illinois gets ready for its moment under no sun," 14 July 2017
For the tourist, a country’s political upheavals are usually gleaned from news accounts and local rumors, but this time something was evident in the disturbed surface codes on which strangers rely.

— richard kaye, Town & Country, "What It's Like to Be a Tourist During a Coup," 14 July 2017
My go-to weeknight recipes tend to be those gleaned and, if necessary, scaled up, from India, Mexico and the Middle East.

— jennifer steinhauer, New York Times, "How to Feed Your Summer Crowd Without Going Crazy," 10 July 2017
The 274-page bill gleaned proposals from at least 55 House and Senate bills filed during the 2017 session, as well as language never before discussed or considered publicly or — in one case — that was already defeated by a Senate committee.

— kristen m. clark, miamiherald, "Broward Schools to sue over controversial new schools law," 5 July 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

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GLEAN Defined for English Language Learners

glean

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