fallow 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of fallownext
as in dormant
not being in a state of use, activity, or employment the coal mine has been lying fallow since the drop in prices made it unprofitable

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

fallow

2 of 2

verb

as in to rake

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fallow
Adjective
Planned in 1927 as a desirable residential neighborhood, the tract had instead lain fallow for almost 15 years. — Eric Duvall, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 May 2026 The company has about 150 solar projects in its North American portfolio with the bulk of those developments on fallow land, hayfields and former farmland. — Ayurella Horn-Muller, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2026
Verb
District officials say that could force growers to fallow hundreds of thousands of acres. — Jeff St. John, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2026 Continuing to cut farm water allocations is on track to fallow a million acres or more of irrigated farmland in the state, causing a devastating loss of jobs and economic productivity. — Edward Ring, Oc Register, 25 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fallow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallow
  1. dormant
  2. rake
  3. off
  4. hoe
  5. vacant
  6. list
  7. idle
  8. harrow
Adjective
  • Former SpaceX engineers think a long-dormant nuclear reactor experiment is key to meeting the power needs of data centers.
    — Evan Halper, Washington Post, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Hawaii, meanwhile, rightfully earns its place thanks to its dramatic terrain, with 25 active and dormant volcanoes—the most of any state in the study—as well as 543 waterfalls and Mauna Kea, one of the tallest mountain summits in the country.
    — Lauren Dana Ellman, Travel + Leisure, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of dormant
Verb
  • Gatwood hoped to put in a new fence and was raking some rocks and dirt to make the yard smoother.
    — Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026
  • From mowing at the right time to raking leaves at the right time, the when is as important as the how.
    — David Beaulieu, The Spruce, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of rake
Adjective
  • The Bears will practice Sunday afternoon, which is expected to be mostly the first-team players who did not play in the game, before an off day Monday.
    — Kevin Fishbain, New York Times, 16 Aug. 2026
  • Mehidy then produced a superb delivery that straightened past the bat of Beau Webster (5) and clipped the top of off stump to have Australia at 6-193, still trailing by 35 runs and with the tail exposed.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of off
Verb
  • The post-op row, however, is proving tough to hoe for a small business owner used to putting in hours well beyond overtime.
    — Amy Drew Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 23 May 2026
  • The $10 general admission during the Lilac Festival on weekends includes petting zoo, lilac maze, hoe down & jug band shows, lawn games, and lilac viewing.
    — Linda Mcintosh, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Mar. 2026
Definition of hoe
Adjective
  • Volkanovski recently regained the vacant title and successfully defended it in February.
    — Trent Reinsmith, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026
  • Either Melissa Hernandez or Aisha Wahab will fill Eric Swalwell’s vacant seat as California’s 14th District representative.
    — Praveena Somasundaram, Washington Post, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of vacant
Verb
  • Every ticket listed on those three sites will be verified by LA28, which has signed commercial partnerships with those third-party platforms.
    — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • After reviewing enough job posts that listed the position as remote only to find out the company requires employees to work in office, Petersen doesn’t trust job descriptions anymore.
    — Rachel Barber, USA Today, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of list
Adjective
  • Most humanoid models run for up to four hours while sitting idle.
    — Elaine Yu,Anniek Bao, CNBC, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Hundreds of laymen, actuated solely by idle curiosity, received little more than a crick in the neck for their pains.
    — AJ Willingham, AJC.com, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of idle
Verb
  • Before the big race, the track was harrowed, bringing it to a better and drier racing surface.
    — John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 7 June 2025
  • The research fellow who met me, Birte, was in her forties, and appeared as if she had been harrowed by her work.
    — John Ganz, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
Definition of harrow

Browse Nearby Words

fallouts
fallow
fallowed
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fallow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fallow. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on fallow

Nglish: Translation of fallow for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of august

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
alt-684346df967d5
Add A Letter Quiz Pick the letter that goes in the same spot in fou...
See All