scythe

noun

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\ ˈsīṯẖ

, ˈsī

Definition of scythe

(Entry 1 of 2)

: an implement used for mowing grass, grain, or other crops and composed of a long curving blade fastened at an angle to a long handle

scythe

verb

scythed; scything

Definition of scythe (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to use a scythe

transitive verb

: to cut with or as if with a scythe scything cornstalks

Examples of scythe in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Thus, ‶Mowing″ is prefaced with the explanation that Frost found the pen and the scythe his favorite tools. — David Lyon, BostonGlobe.com, "Three walks with poets through their favorite landscapes," 28 Jan. 2021 Uhlfelder gained notoriety in the early days of the pandemic by dressing as Death, complete with a black robe and scythe, on crowded beaches and at other public areas. — Steven Lemongello, orlandosentinel.com, "Florida man donates COVID-19 ‘Grim Reaper’ costume to Miami museum," 28 Dec. 2020 Dressed as a scythe-wielding Grim Reaper, the Walton County attorney toured around the state’s northwest coast in March, offering a dire warning that drew national attention. — Washington Post, "Florida’s ‘Grim Reaper’ lawyer sued Ron DeSantis over covid-19. Now the governor’s attorneys want him sanctioned.," 15 Dec. 2020 It’s an eerie-looking thing, a shrine to a dead traveler, with a scythe in one hand and an owl perched on the other. — Nate Matthews, Field & Stream, "F&S Classics: Baja By Bike," 7 Dec. 2020 At the bunker, Dean grabs Death's scythe, and he and Cas head to Death's library. — Samantha Highfill, EW.com, "Supernatural recap: The fight against Billie ends in tragedy," 6 Nov. 2020 This incarnation of Death was not a scythe-wielding Grim Reaper but rather a cute goth girl with a spunky attitude and a pretty ankh symbol. — Christian Holub, EW.com, "Neil Gaiman, Michael Sheen, G. Willow Wilson discuss the past and future of The Sandman at DC FanDome," 22 Aug. 2020 But the prospect of conservative judges wielding a non-delegation scythe to mow down entire fields of federal regulation is nonetheless distressingly real. — Christopher J. Sprigman, The New Republic, "A Constitutional Weapon for Biden to Vanquish Trump’s Army of Judges," 20 Aug. 2020 Rather than spend any more of his life documenting the dying, Sala decided to try to safeguard the living in the few remaining patches of ocean where the Grim Reaper had yet to swing his scythe. — National Geographic, "Inside the ambitious push to protect a third of the world’s ocean," 13 Aug. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Many live in crowded, unsanitary camps, creating fears COVID-19 could scythe through a vulnerable population. — Reuters, CNN, "Doctor's self-funded test lab leads way in Somalia's COVID fight," 6 Nov. 2020 Covid-19 continues to scythe through the halls of long-term care facilities despite an array of safety measures and bans on visitors, put in place months ago to slow the devastation. — New York Times, "‘A Slow Killer’: Nursing Home Residents Wither in Isolation Forced by the Virus," 30 Oct. 2020 Things started rather nicely for the Red Devils as Caglar Soyuncu scythed down Rashford in the area, and the England international stepped up to fire home the resulting spot-kick... — SI.com, "Twitter Reacts as Manchester United Earn Important Victory Over Leicester City," 14 Sep. 2019 The virus is scything through its aged population and its hospitals are straining from a rush of patients. — Stephen Collinson, CNN, "Italy is a test of how a Western economy bear an almost-total shutdown," 12 Mar. 2020 But its explosive power gives it the muscle of a gas-engine machine for mowing down the tall stuff and scything through weeds and saplings. — Roy Berendson, Popular Mechanics, "The Popular Mechanics 2020 Tool Awards," 18 Mar. 2020 Canalys, starting from a similar estimate for 2019, scythes its expectations down to 42.5 million shipments. — Fortune, "Apple’s iPhone maker expects its China plants to be operating normally within weeks," 3 Mar. 2020 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was meant to scythe-down Jim Crow and the evils of racial discrimination. — Richard Aldous, WSJ, "‘The Age of Entitlement’ Review: The Dividing Line," 17 Jan. 2020 Prop Moody's marauding run set the tone before Barrett scythed his way through the Welsh defence to dot down under the posts on 13 minutes. — Daniel Gallan, CNN, "All Blacks run rampant against Wales to end Rugby World Cup on a high," 1 Nov. 2019

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