/ fɑːm; NAmE fɑːrm/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
an area of land, and the buildings on it, used for growing crops and/or keeping animals :
a 200-hectare farm
a farm worker / labourer
farm buildings / machinery
to live / work on a farm
2.
the main house on a farm, where the farmer lives
3.
(especially in compounds) a place where particular fish or animals are bred :
a trout / mink / pig farm
—see also battery farm , collective farm , dairy farm , factory farm , funny farm , health farm , truck farm , wind farm
■ verb
to use land for growing crops and/or keeping animals :
[ v ]
The family has farmed in Kent for over two hundred years.
[ vn ]
They farm dairy cattle.
He farmed 200 acres of prime arable land.
organically farmed produce
•
IDIOMS
see buy verb
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PHRASAL VERBS
- farm sb out (to sb)
- farm sb/sth out to sb
••
WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : from Old French ferme , from medieval Latin firma fixed payment, from Latin firmare fix, settle (in medieval Latin contract for), from firmus constant, firm; compare with firm (noun). The noun originally denoted a fixed annual amount payable as rent or tax; which later gave rise to to subcontract ( farm sb/sth out to sb. ). The noun came to denote a lease, and, in the early 16th cent., land leased for farming. The verb sense grow crops or keep livestock dates from the early 19th cent.