often attributive
1
: the season for gathering in agricultural crops
the beginning of the harvest
2
: the act or process of gathering in a crop
assisting neighbors in their harvest
3
a
: a mature crop (as of grain or fruit) : yield
bountiful harvests
b
: the quantity of a natural product gathered in a single season
the salmon harvest
timber harvests
4
: an accumulated store or productive result
a harvest of revenue
harvested; harvesting; harvests
1
a
: to gather in (a crop) : reap
harvesting corn
b
: to gather, catch, hunt, or kill (salmon, oysters, deer, etc.) for human use, sport, or population control
c
: to remove or extract (something, such as living cells, tissues, or organs) from culture (see culture entry 1 sense 3) or from a living or recently deceased body especially for transplanting
2
a
: to accumulate a store of
has now harvested this new generation's scholarly labors—
M. J. Wiener
M. J. Wiener
b
: to win by achievement
the team harvested several awards
: to gather in a crop especially for food
sold it standing in the field to save himself the trouble of harvesting—Pearl Buck
Pearl Buck
harvester
noun
Synonyms
Examples of harvest in a Sentence
Noun
The beginning of the harvest varies from year to year.
It is time for the harvest.
They prayed for a bountiful harvest.
We had enormous harvests of corn this year.
Verb
It is time to harvest the wheat.
They want to harvest timber in these woods.
Recent Examples on the Web
Gina Decaprio Vercesi, Travel + Leisure, 23 Jan. 2025
For me, that meant purchasing a wagon when Sofia’s legs gave out, and taking her to the beach, to a harvest festival (thank you for allowing her, Shady Brook Farm!), and making paw print art.
—Annemarie Dooling, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
Heide Brandes, thehustle.co, 24 Jan. 2025
Deer heads are mounted on the walls, mini-toboggans are nailed to the ceiling, and lumberjack-plaid drapery evokes cabanes à sucre, or sugar shacks, traditional shanties set up in forests where the sap to be turned into maple syrup is harvested.
—Vjosa Isai, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for harvest 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Noun
Belize is home to hundreds of caverns where Mayan priests once held rituals to petition the gods for rain or a successful harvest.
—Gina Decaprio Vercesi, Travel + Leisure, 23 Jan. 2025
For me, that meant purchasing a wagon when Sofia’s legs gave out, and taking her to the beach, to a harvest festival (thank you for allowing her, Shady Brook Farm!), and making paw print art.
—Annemarie Dooling, USA TODAY, 22 Jan. 2025
Verb
This could be the future of farming, according to Kiera Foti, brand manager at Atlantic Sea Farms, which harvested 1.3m pounds of seaweed last year, the majority of the US seaweed crop.
—Heide Brandes, thehustle.co, 24 Jan. 2025
Deer heads are mounted on the walls, mini-toboggans are nailed to the ceiling, and lumberjack-plaid drapery evokes cabanes à sucre, or sugar shacks, traditional shanties set up in forests where the sap to be turned into maple syrup is harvested.
—Vjosa Isai, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for harvest
Articles Related to harvest
Dictionary Entries Near harvest
Cite this Entry
“Harvest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/harvest. Accessed 27 Jan. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
harvest
1 of 2 noun
har·vest
ˈhär-vəst 
1
: the season when crops are gathered
2
: the gathering of a crop
3
: a ripe crop (as of grain or fruit)
also
: the quantity of a crop gathered in a single season
harvest
2 of 2 verb1
: to gather in a crop : reap
2
: to gather as if by harvesting
harvest timber
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