plowed

Also found in: Thesaurus, Idioms, Encyclopedia.

plow

also plough (plou)

1. A farm implement consisting of a strong blade at the end of a beam, usually hitched to a draft team or motor vehicle and used for breaking up soil and cutting furrows in preparation for sowing.

2. An implement or machine designed to move earth, snow, or other material by means of a strong blade.

3. Plow See Big Dipper.

v. plowed, plow·ing, plows also ploughed or plough·ing or ploughs

v.tr.

a. To break and turn over (earth) with a plow.

b. To form (a furrow, for example) with a plow.

c. To form furrows in with a plow: plow a field.

d. To form wrinkles or creases in: His forehead was plowed with lines of stress.

a. To move or clear (snow, for example) by means of a plow.

b. To clear (an area) of snow or other material by means of a plow.

3. To make or form with driving force: I plowed my way through the crowd.

4. To progress through (water): plow the high seas.

5. Vulgar Slang To have intercourse with (another). Used of a man.

v.intr.

1. To break and turn up earth with a plow.

2. To move or clear material such as snow with a plow.

3. To admit of plowing: Rocky earth plows poorly.

4. To move or progress with driving force: The ball carrier plowed through the defensive line.

5. To proceed laboriously; plod: plowed through the backlog of work.

Phrasal Verbs:

plow back

To reinvest (earnings or profits) in one's business.

plow in

To block or isolate by plowing snow across ways of egress.

plow into Informal

1. To strike with force: The van plowed into the hydrant.

2. To begin to eat (food) with eagerness.

plow under

1. To turn or force (crops or manure, for example) into the soil with a plow.

2. To overwhelm, as with burdens: was plowed under with work.

[Middle English plough, plouw, from Old English plōh, plōg, plow, plowland.]

plow′a·ble adj.

plow′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Adj.

plowed - (of farmland) broken and turned over with a plow; "plowed fields"

ploughed

unploughed, unplowed, unbroken - (of farmland) not plowed; "unplowed fields"; "unbroken land"

References in classic literature ?

When a few turns had been made, the farmer crossed the plowed strip to Saxon, and joined her on the rail.

View in context

So Piers offered, if they would wait until he had plowed his field, to go with them and show them the way.

View in context

"We plowed with six for about three years in a row, skipped a couple years and then hitched the six again," Alan says.

Plowing with MULTI-HORSE HITCHES: VINTAGE PLOWS ARE JUST PART OF SOUTH DAKOTA MAN'S VISION

Like many communities, Gardner has traditionally plowed certain unaccepted streets as long as they are not so deteriorated that they pose a public safety risk or a threat to town equipment.

Question on plowing poses puzzle for polls

Among these was a demand for adoption of a dry pavement policy for snowplowing, meaning that roads must be plowed, salted, and sanded as necessary following a snowfall event to achieve a dry, clear road surface.

GIS speeds dry pavement policy

Scopel of Oregon State University in Corvallis reports that test plots plowed only at night grew roughly half as many weeds as plots plowed only during daylight hours.

Midnight: time to plow the north 40

I plowed 3 acres alone this spring with a one-horse plow and the trucks.

The Wonder Plow: Tennessee inventor's plow designed for stability

Flick said the city, like many communities, has traditionally plowed certain unaccepted streets as long as they are not so deteriorated to pose a public safety risk or a threat to town equipment.

Law makes clear the path to plow; City's practice outside legal ruling; issue will have to go before voters

The plowed soil must have good contact with the subsoil to facilitate the rise of moisture.