glean

verb

ˈglēn 

gleaned; gleaning; gleans

intransitive verb

1

: to gather grain or other produce left by reapers

2

: to gather information or material bit by bit

transitive verb

1

a

: to pick up after a reaper

b

: to strip of the leavings of reapers

glean a field

2

a

: to gather (something, such as information) bit by bit

can glean secrets from his hard drive

b

: to pick over in search of relevant material

gleaning old files for information

3

: find out

The police used old-fashioned detective work to glean his whereabouts.

gleanable

ˈglē-nə-bəl 

adjective

gleaner noun

Did you know?

The Grainy History of Glean

Glean comes from Middle English glenen, which traces to Anglo-French glener, meaning "to glean." The French borrowed their word from Late Latin glennare, which also means "to glean" and is itself of Celtic origin. Both the grain-gathering sense and the collecting-bit-by-bit senses of English's glean date back at least to the 14th century. Over the years, and especially in the 20th and 21st centuries, glean has also come to be used frequently with the meaning "to find out, learn, ascertain." This sense has been criticized by folks who think glean should always imply the drudgery involved in the literal grain-gathering sense, but it is well established and perfectly valid.

Examples of glean in a Sentence

She gleaned her data from various studies.

He has a collection of antique tools gleaned from flea markets and garage sales.

They spent days gleaning the files for information.

They spent hours gleaning in the wheat fields.

gleaning stray ears of corn

Recent Examples on the Web

This is one aspect of her origin story that will likely be familiar to fans, who have over the years gleaned a sketchy timeline of her life, from difficult childhood to ’90s notoriety to a diagnosis of late-stage Lyme disease that sidelined her for years following Le Tigre’s dissolution in 2007. —TIME, 7 May 2024

There’s not as much to glean from this image, since the Roam 2’s design is basically identical to the first-gen speaker. —Chris Welch, The Verge, 6 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English glenen, from Anglo-French glener, from Late Latin glennare, of Celtic origin; akin to Old Irish doglenn he selects

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Kids Definition

glean

verb

ˈglēn 

1

: to gather from a field or vineyard what has been left (as by reapers)

2

: to gather little by little

glean knowledge from books

gleaner noun