harvest

1 of 2

noun

har·​vest ˈhär-vəst How to pronounce harvest (audio)
often attributive
1
: the season for gathering in agricultural crops
the beginning of the harvest
2
: the act or process of gathering in a crop
assisting neighbors in their harvest
3
a
: a mature crop (as of grain or fruit) : yield
bountiful harvests
b
: the quantity of a natural product gathered in a single season
the salmon harvest
timber harvests
4
: an accumulated store or productive result
a harvest of revenue

harvest

2 of 2

verb

harvested; harvesting; harvests

transitive verb

1
a
: to gather in (a crop) : reap
harvesting corn
b
: to gather, catch, hunt, or kill (salmon, oysters, deer, etc.) for human use, sport, or population control
c
: to remove or extract (something, such as living cells, tissues, or organs) from culture (see culture entry 1 sense 3) or from a living or recently deceased body especially for transplanting
2
a
: to accumulate a store of
has now harvested this new generation's scholarly laborsM. J. Wiener
b
: to win by achievement
the team harvested several awards

intransitive verb

: to gather in a crop especially for food
sold it standing in the field to save himself the trouble of harvestingPearl Buck
harvestable adjective
harvester noun

Examples of harvest in a Sentence

Noun The beginning of the harvest varies from year to year. It is time for the harvest. They prayed for a bountiful harvest. We had enormous harvests of corn this year. Verb It is time to harvest the wheat. They want to harvest timber in these woods.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
The dryness could impact the quality of many fall harvest crops, such as the test weights of the yields, Glauber said. Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2024 By the coast of Bangladesh, impoverished farmers turn to fishing to supplement inconsistent harvests and face capture by ransom-seeking pirates. Saima S. Iqbal, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2024
Verb
The resulting seeds can be harvested about eight weeks later and should be sown immediately. Andy Wilcox, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Oct. 2024 Pure Manuka Honey $98 Flamingo Estate Flamingo Estate’s Manuka honey is harvested from Mount Taranaki in New Zealand—a region known for its ability to produce an incredibly potent nectar. Megan Wahn, Architectural Digest, 24 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for harvest 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'harvest.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English hervest, from Old English hærfest; akin to Latin carpere to pluck, gather, Greek karpos fruit

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of harvest was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near harvest

Cite this Entry

“Harvest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harvest. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

harvest

1 of 2 noun
har·​vest ˈhär-vəst How to pronounce harvest (audio)
1
: the season when crops are gathered
2
: the gathering of a crop
3
: a ripe crop (as of grain or fruit)
also : the quantity of a crop gathered in a single season

harvest

2 of 2 verb
1
: to gather in a crop : reap
2
: to gather as if by harvesting
harvest timber

More from Merriam-Webster on harvest

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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