fallow
/'fælou/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Left unseeded and unplanted: Describes farmland that is deliberately not cultivated for one or more growing seasons to allow the soil to recover its fertility.
- Inactive, undeveloped, or dormant: Describes a period, state, or resource that is not currently being used or developed but has potential for future use.
Noun:
- Land left unseeded: A specific area of cultivated land that is intentionally not sown with crops during a particular season or year.
Examples of Usage
- Adjective:
- The farmer left the field fallow for a year to improve the soil.
- After the project ended, her creative talents lay fallow for several months.
- Noun:
- They planted a cover crop on the fallow to prevent erosion.
Advanced Usage
- "To lie fallow": This common phrase uses the adjective to describe a period of intentional inactivity for future benefit. It can apply to land, minds, skills, or markets.
- He let his mind lie fallow over the summer, and returned to work with fresh ideas.
- The company's plans for expansion are currently lying fallow due to economic conditions.
Variants and Related Words
- Fallow deer (): A type of deer (), distinct from the adjective/noun "fallow" related to land. This is a separate compound noun.
- Follow (): A phonetically similar but unrelated word meaning to go or come after.
Synonyms
- Adjective (for land): Uncultivated, unplanted, unseeded, idle.
- Adjective (for state): Dormant, inactive, latent, unused.
Antonyms
- Adjective: Cultivated, planted, productive, active, developed.
Related Phrases and Concepts
- Crop rotation: The agricultural practice of which leaving land fallow is often a part.
- Soil regeneration / restoration: The primary purpose of a fallow period for farmland.
Adjective
- undeveloped but potentially useful
- a fallow gold market
- left unplowed and unseeded during a growing season
- fallow farmland
Noun
- cultivated land that is not seeded for one or more growing seasons