farm

[ fahrm ]
See synonyms for farm on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a tract of land, usually with a house, barn, silo, etc., on which crops and often livestock are raised for livelihood.

  2. land or water devoted to the raising of animals, fish, plants, etc.: a pig farm;an oyster farm;a tree farm.

  1. a site, usually commercial, where a product is manufactured or cultivated: a cheese farm;a honey farm.

  2. the system, method, or act of collecting revenue by leasing a territory in districts.

  3. a country or district leased for the collection of revenue.

  4. a fixed yearly amount payment of money or goods, accepted in lieu of taxes owed.

  5. a tract of land on which an industrial function is carried out, such as the drilling or storage of oil or the generation of electricity by solar power.

  6. Informal: Often Disparaging and Offensive. a place or business that serves a specified type of client or customer: Sending people to so-called fat farms rarely increases their health.Gone are the days when inpatient mental health care was commonly referred to as the “funny farm.”

  7. a business or place that turns out specified products or services in the manner of a factory; a mill: an online content farm.

  8. English History.

    • the rent or income from leased property.

    • the condition of being leased at a fixed rent; possession under lease; a lease.

  9. Also called farm team, farm club .Chiefly Baseball. a team in a minor league that is owned by or affiliated with a major-league team, for training or keeping players until ready or needed.

  10. Obsolete. a fixed yearly amount payable in the form of rent, taxes, or the like.

verb (used with object)
  1. to cultivate (land).

  2. to raise (animals, fish, plants, etc.) on land or in water.

  1. to take the proceeds or profits of (a tax, undertaking, etc.) on paying a fixed sum.

  2. to let or lease (taxes, revenues, an enterprise, etc.) to another for a fixed sum or a percentage (often followed by out).

  3. to let or lease the labor or services of (a person) for hire.

  4. to contract for the maintenance of (a person, institution, etc.): The county farms its poor.

  5. (in a video game) to collect (valuable items) for a character’s use or to sell in the game’s virtual economy by repeatedly performing a task for a reward or killing an enemy for a dropped item: I farm crafting supplies just to sell them at the auction house.

verb (used without object)
  1. to cultivate the soil; operate a farm.

Verb Phrases
  1. farm out,

    • to assign (work, privileges, or the like) to another by financial agreement; subcontract; lease: The busy shipyard farmed out two construction jobs to a smaller yard.

    • to assign the care of (a child or dependent person) to another: She farms her elderly aunt out to a retired nurse during the workweek.

    • Chiefly Baseball. to assign (a player) to a farm.

    • to exhaust (farmland) by overcropping.

    • to drill (oil or gas wells), especially by subcontract on land owned or leased by another.

Idioms about farm

  1. buy the farm, Slang. to die or be killed.

Origin of farm

1
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English ferme “lease, rented land, rent,” from Anglo-French, Old French, from Vulgar Latin ferma (unattested), derivative of fermāre (unattested) for Latin firmāre “to make firm, confirm”; see firm1

Other words from farm

  • farm·a·ble, adjective
  • min·i·farm, noun
  • non·farm, adjective
  • pro·farm, adjective
  • su·per·farm, noun
  • un·farm·a·ble, adjective
  • un·farmed, adjective
  • well-farmed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for farm

farm

/ (fɑːm) /


noun
    • a tract of land, usually with house and buildings, cultivated as a unit or used to rear livestock

    • (as modifier): farm produce

    • (in combination): farmland

  1. a unit of land or water devoted to the growing or rearing of some particular type of vegetable, fruit, animal, or fish: a fish farm

  1. an installation for storage

  2. a district of which one or more taxes are leased

  3. history

    • a fixed sum paid by an individual or group for the right of collecting and retaining taxes, rents, etc

    • a fixed sum paid regularly by a town, county, etc, in lieu of taxes

    • the leasing of a source of revenue to an individual or group

    • a fixed tax, rent, etc, paid regularly

verb
  1. (tr)

    • to cultivate (land)

    • to rear (stock, etc) on a farm

  2. (intr) to engage in agricultural work, esp as a way of life

  1. (tr) to look after a child for a fixed sum

    • to collect the moneys due and retain the profits from (a tax district, business, etc) for a specified period on payment of a sum or sums

    • to operate (a franchise) under similar conditions

Origin of farm

1
C13: from Old French ferme rented land, ultimately from Latin firmāre to settle

Derived forms of farm

  • farmable, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with farm

farm

In addition to the idiom beginning with farm

  • farm out

also see:

  • buy it (the farm)

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.