harvest

1 of 2

noun

har·​vest ˈhär-vəst 

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

the bitter harvest of years of neglect

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 5) 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 labors …

—M. 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 harvesting …

—Pearl Buck

harvestable

ˈhär-və-stə-bəl 

adjective

harvester noun

Synonyms of harvest

Noun

• crop

Verb

• pick
• gather
• fish
• reap

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

As Better Homes & Gardens explains, spinach is a cool-season crop that can be grown for spring or fall harvest. —Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Apr. 2026

According to Better Homes & Gardens, spinach is a cool-season crop that can be grown for spring or fall harvest. —Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Kansas City Star, 3 Apr. 2026

Verb

There are likely between 20,000 and 50,000 species of mycorrhizal fungi, each with its own tricks for tapping into different plants and harvesting nutrients using enzymes, acids, and water-mining structures. —Quanta Magazine, 6 Apr. 2026

Rix has seen a 44% price increase for diesel fuel, which powers the machines that sow and harvest 44 fields of potatoes and around 60 fields of onions. —Alexander Smith, NBC news, 6 Apr. 2026

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

Phrases Containing harvest

• harvest fly
• harvest home
• harvest mite
• harvest moon
• pre-harvest

Rhymes for harvest

• postharvest
• preharvest

Kids Definition

harvest

1 of 2 noun

har·​vest ˈhär-vəst 

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