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
Sam Lee, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
In the years that followed, however, grass accumulated on the fallow and ungrazed farmland, and devastating fires erupted.
—Bydan Charles, science.org, 2 Jan. 2025
Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2022
Noah Hiscox, a Coolidge farmer for 44 years, is among the growers who expect to fallow much of their land.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 4 Jan. 2022
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Adjective
The average age of their starting line-up on Sunday was their joint-youngest in a league match under Guardiola since, perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not, July 2020, the end of that rare fallow season.
—Sam Lee, The Athletic, 24 Feb. 2025
In the years that followed, however, grass accumulated on the fallow and ungrazed farmland, and devastating fires erupted.
—Bydan Charles, science.org, 2 Jan. 2025
Verb
As farmers fallow more land in California’s Central Valley — due to drought and groundwater regulations — more dust could be kicked up, polluting low-income communities of color that already suffer from some of the nation’s worst air quality.
—Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 15 Sep. 2022
Noah Hiscox, a Coolidge farmer for 44 years, is among the growers who expect to fallow much of their land.
—Brandon Loomis, The Arizona Republic, 4 Jan. 2022
See All Example Sentences for fallow
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fallow
Adjective
-
While her blood was found inside the vehicle, there was no other trace of her and her bank accounts remained dormant.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
People.com,
21 Mar. 2025
-
For a true super bloom to occur, a high proportion of seeds that have remained dormant and built up in soil over several years must bloom at once.—
Mae Hamilton,
AFAR Media,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Grab your heavy-duty broom or rake and sweep debris manually wherever tidying up is needed.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
29 Mar. 2025
-
Ready for weeding, raking, or the occasional non-gardening task, put these gloves to the test.—
Nora Taylor,
Architectural Digest,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Alcaraz, who lives his best life at Indian Wells, playing golf on his off days and pummeling his opponent, chalked up the slow start and the loss to having fallen into the trap of thinking too much about his opponent rather than focusing on himself.—
Matthew Futterman,
The Athletic,
16 Mar. 2025
-
Stewart’s on-field production left a lot to be desired last year, but his motor doesn’t have an off switch.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
7 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Wayward rhizomes that pop up as new plants can be hoed or chopped.—
Andy Wilcox,
Better Homes & Gardens,
18 Mar. 2025
-
The directors branch is notoriously snobby, which will be a tough row to hoe for Wicked’s Jon M. Chu, who got his start directing films in the Step Up and G.I. Joe franchises.—
Nate Jones,
Vulture,
23 Nov. 2024
Adjective
-
Two other seats were left vacant when Democratic lawmakers died.—
Dave Goldiner,
New York Daily News,
27 Mar. 2025
-
Council members March 25 voted unanimously to rezone a vacant property on the west side of Montgomery for high-intensity mixed-use development, a designation allowing combinations of apartments, hotels and retail spaces.—
Jaime Moore-Carrillo,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
26 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
Looking at the credits, there’s a lot of studios listed on here, even on some individual tracks, so most of these songs look like they were worked on over a period of time, sometimes with different people and places.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
28 Mar. 2025
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For context, some of the league’s smaller market teams, such as the Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Pelicans, and Oklahoma City Thunder, are based in cities with populations far larger than any of the counties listed above.—
Giovanni Malloy,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
But at the end of 2020, another 230,000 wells were idle.—
Camila Domonoske,
NPR,
26 Mar. 2025
-
These were a big 4 points for the Wild in the last two games, moving them 8 points ahead of the St. Louis Blues, who were idle and are in ninth place in the Western Conference.—
Joe Smith,
The Athletic,
20 Mar. 2025
Verb
-
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
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Plus, Shin Ha-young is given little to do in the second half of the series despite her effortless shift from warm third wheel to harrowed and weary abuse victim.—
Geoffrey Bunting,
Rolling Stone,
26 Oct. 2023
Cite this Entry
“Fallow.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fallow. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.
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