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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fallow
Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 16 Dec. 2025
The rhythm of nature is an extraordinary teacher; there is a time to be fallow and there is a time to be ripe.
—Bhanuj Kappal, Vogue, 15 Nov. 2025
Los Angeles Times, 20 Feb. 2023
Congress recently allocated $4 billion in drought funding that can be used to pay farmers to fallow their land and not use their water.
—Ben Tracy, Andy Bast, CBS News, 31 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Adjective
Honestly, the best chance a song might have is coming out strong next year during a fallow chart period and just dominating for over 20 weeks.
—Jason Lipshutz, Billboard, 16 Dec. 2025
The rhythm of nature is an extraordinary teacher; there is a time to be fallow and there is a time to be ripe.
—Bhanuj Kappal, Vogue, 15 Nov. 2025
Verb
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
Congress recently allocated $4 billion in drought funding that can be used to pay farmers to fallow their land and not use their water.
—Ben Tracy, Andy Bast, CBS News, 31 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallow
Adjective
-
Crepe myrtles bloom on new growth, and the best time to prune is while the tree is dormant, so new growth isn't killed by a late cold snap.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
8 Mar. 2026
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Allow dormant, brown lawns time to recover in the warmer weather before fertilizing in April.—
Wayne Hobbs,
Florida Times-Union,
7 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
As the mulch breaks down or becomes unattractive, rake it away before applying a new layer.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
9 Mar. 2026
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Matt McLain added muscle, is now raking On the one hand, McLain adding a dozen pounds of muscle in the offseason seems like an unambiguously positive development.—
Andy Behrens,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Venezuela manager Omar López spent his off day experiencing another side of South Florida’s sports scene.—
Noah Gulley,
Miami Herald,
12 Mar. 2026
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It was later sold in an off-market deal, at which point it was renamed Contigo.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Such haphazardly and closely planted crops could not be hoed, so other plants and grasses grew with the grain on the ridges.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
19 Feb. 2026
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Weeds are easy to hand-pull or hoe out when they're freshly sprouted, and their leaves and roots are still young and tender.—
Lauren Landers,
Better Homes & Gardens,
4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Firefighters rushed to downtown Los Angeles to extinguish flames that engulfed a vacant business Thursday afternoon.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
12 Mar. 2026
-
Two decades later, the land around the stadium remains mostly vacant.—
Luke Cyphers,
Sportico.com,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Walens Jean, no address listed.—
Colleen Cronin,
Boston Herald,
10 Mar. 2026
-
The Mujahedeen-e-Khalq is listed as a terrorist organization by Iran and is widely despised inside the country.—
Farah N. Jan,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Reuters reported Monday that traffic into and out of the Gulf was at an almost complete standstill and that hundreds of tankers were sitting idle near Hormuz.—
Dante Motley,
Austin American Statesman,
9 Mar. 2026
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But the Heat did extend its lead over the idle eighth-place Philadelphia 76ers (34-29) to one game.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
9 Mar. 2026
Verb
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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
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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 13 Mar. 2026.
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