I. har ‧ vest 1 /ˈhɑːvəst, ˈhɑːvɪst $ ˈhɑːr-/ BrE AmE noun
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: hærfest ]
1 . [uncountable and countable] the time when crops are gathered from the fields, or the act of gathering them
at harvest/at harvest time
every year at harvest time
wheat/rice/grape etc harvest
It rained for the potato harvest.
2 . [countable] the crops that have been gathered, or the amount and quality of the crops gathered
good/bumper harvest (=a lot of crops)
Plum growers are expecting a bumper harvest this year.
poor/bad harvest (=few crops)
3 . reap a harvest to get good or bad results from your actions:
The company is now reaping the harvest of careful planning.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS (for Meanings 1 & 2)
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + harvest
▪ good
The late frosts ended hopes of a good harvest that year.
▪ poor/bad (=with few crops)
A series of poor harvests plunged them into debt.
▪ a bumper harvest (=a very good harvest)
Plum growers are expecting a bumper harvest this year.
▪ the grain/potato/corn etc harvest
This year's grain harvest is expected to be well over 85 million tons.
■ harvest + NOUN
▪ harvest time
He hired extra workers to help at harvest time.
▪ the harvest season
Orchard farmers are busiest during the September and October harvest season.
■ verbs
▪ bring in/gather in the harvest ( also get in the harvest ) (=collect the crops from the fields)
They were working late into the night to get the harvest in.
▪ the harvest fails (=there are no crops or only poor crops)
The potato harvest failed that year.
II. harvest 2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive and transitive]
to gather crops from the fields