What does "furrow" mean?
Any trench, channel, or groove; often found on wood or metal.; A trench cut in the soil, as when plowed in order to plant a crop.
Furrow
/ˈfʌɹoʊ/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any trench, channel, or groove; often found on wood or metal.; A trench cut in the soil, as when plowed in order to plant a crop.
- Grammar: furrow is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: crease, line, wrinkle, abysm.
- Useful contrasts: unfurrowed, flatten, level.
- Usage evidence: For a long time, every furrow that was turned revealed some fragments of the fight.
How to use "furrow"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "furrow" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "furrow" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "furrow" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "furrow" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "furrow" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "crease" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "furrow", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 Any trench, channel, or groove; often found on wood or metal.; A trench cut in the soil, as when plowed in order to plant a crop.
"Don't walk across that deep furrow in the field."
- 2 a long shallow trench in the ground (especially one made by a plow) wordnet
- 3 Any trench, channel, or groove; often found on wood or metal.; A deep wrinkle in the skin of the face, especially on the forehead.
"When she was tired, a deep furrow appeared on her forehead."
- 4 a slight depression or fold in the smoothness of a surface wordnet
Verb
- 1 To cut one or more grooves in (the ground, etc.). transitive
"Cart wheels can furrow roads."
- 2 hollow out in the form of a furrow or groove wordnet
- 3 To wrinkle. transitive
- 4 cut a furrow into a column wordnet
- 5 To pull one's brows or eyebrows together due to concentration, worry, etc. transitive
"As she pored over the company's bewildering tax documents, she furrowed her brows, wrinkled her nose, and began to frown her befuddlement."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 make wrinkled or creased wordnet
- 7 to become furrowed intransitive
"If you were bold enough to ask Antonin Scalia questions, you had to be precise. Otherwise the bushy black brows would furrow, the chin would crumple and the pudgy, puckish body would start to rock, eager to get at you."
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
Antonyms
Example
"For a long time, every furrow that was turned revealed some fragments of the fight."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "furrow"?
Common synonyms include: crease, line, wrinkle, abysm, abyss, alveolation.
How do you use "furrow" in a sentence?
For a long time, every furrow that was turned revealed some fragments of the fight.
How do you pronounce "furrow"?
Pronounced /ˈfʌɹoʊ/.
Etymology
From Middle English furgh, forow, from Old English furh, from Proto-West Germanic *furh, from Proto-Germanic *furhs (compare Saterland Frisian Fuurge, Dutch voor, German Furche, Swedish fåra, Norwegian Bokmål fure), from Proto-Indo-European *perḱ- (“to dig”). Compare Welsh rhych (“furrow”), Latin porca (“ridge, balk”), Lithuanian prapar̃šas (“ditch”), Sanskrit पर्शान (párśāna, “chasm”).