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
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Recent Examples of fallow
Laura Reiley, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Sep. 2022
Compromising probably would require money — perhaps tax money — to pay farmers to fallow their land and governments to build new canals and repair old ones.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2023
Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 June 2025
The picture arrives, of course, at a fallow time for Marvel, after a string of duds and an abortive attempt to introduce a new superhero phase following the climactic, stage-clearing (and absurdly lucrative) battles of Avengers: Endgame.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 23 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Adjective
Many growers decided to fallow their fields and sell their water to perennial crops like almonds to defray their losses.
—Laura Reiley, BostonGlobe.com, 5 Sep. 2022
Compromising probably would require money — perhaps tax money — to pay farmers to fallow their land and governments to build new canals and repair old ones.
—Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2023
Verb
Sometimes those special circumstances go against national pride: there have been fallow years for British tennis in which the club has decided not to award all the wild cards, instead giving the spots to the players ranked just outside the cutoff for entry.
—Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 19 June 2025
The picture arrives, of course, at a fallow time for Marvel, after a string of duds and an abortive attempt to introduce a new superhero phase following the climactic, stage-clearing (and absurdly lucrative) battles of Avengers: Endgame.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 23 July 2024
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallow
Adjective
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The drought put brush and other vegetation in the area into dormant, winter-like states, fire behavior analyst Kevin Thompson said during the Monday night meeting.—
Lauren Penington,
Denver Post,
12 Aug. 2025
-
What should be a tender, feminist-minded story centered on a young woman rediscovering her dormant childhood dreamer turns into a middling melodrama about being with a cute guy in desperate need of her rescue.—
Courtney Howard,
Variety,
1 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Repeat, mist texturizing spray near the mid lengths of your hair, then rake your fingers from roots to ends.—
Footwear News,
Footwear News,
8 Aug. 2025
-
This type of worm, once common during the Cambrian period, would use these teeth as a specialized feeding device, scraping the seafloor or raking debris into its digestive tract.—
John Leos,
AZCentral.com,
1 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Interim manager Ray Montgomery agreed that plan made sense, despite the recent number of off days.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
12 Aug. 2025
-
The game was suspended due to rain in the first inning and then completed the following afternoon, which was supposed to be an off day.—
John Perrotto,
Forbes.com,
8 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
One person whose voice stuck out for Fields-Black was Minus Hamilton, an 88-year-old who was hoeing the rice fields at the time of the raid.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
25 June 2025
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To stay on top of weeds, plan to hand-pull or hoe down weeds early in the season when their root systems are still small, and then spend a few minutes weeding each week.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
14 June 2025
Adjective
-
One of the buildings next door was evacuated, while the other was vacant.—
Chevall Pryce,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Aug. 2025
-
Last week, the university eliminated more than 400 positions, half of which were already vacant.—
Kate Armanini,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Wednesday isn't the most common cleaning day, but the middle of the week is a good opportunity to check some important tasks off of your household to do list.—
Sarah Lyon,
Southern Living,
6 Aug. 2025
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The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists them as Vulnerable, and in Brazil, they are classified as Critically Endangered.—
Melissa Cristina Márquez,
Forbes.com,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
The days of neglecting idle IP address blocks without repercussions are over.—
Vincentas Grinius,
Forbes.com,
1 Aug. 2025
-
Too often, subcontractors are forced to sit idle while bureaucratic delays stall projects.—
Rusty Plowman,
Denver Post,
23 July 2025
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
Cite this Entry
“Fallow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fallow. Accessed 19 Aug. 2025.
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