I. ˈmau̇ noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English mowe, mow, mough, from Old English mūga, mūha, mūwa; akin to Middle High German mūche disease of a horse's foot, mocke lump, Old Norse mūgi, mūgr crowd, heap, Greek mykōn heap
1. : a stack or heap of hay or straw or grain or similar produce especially when stored in a barn
2. : the part of a barn where hay, straw, or grain is stored
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English mowen, from mowe, n.
: to stack or store in or as if in a haymow — usually used with away
III. ˈmō verb
( mowed ; mowed or mown ; mowing ; mows )
Etymology: Middle English mowen, from Old English māwan; akin to Old High German māen to mow, Middle Low German meien, meigen, Middle Dutch maeyen to mow, Latin metere to reap, mow, Welsh medi to reap, Greek aman to cut, mow, reap
transitive verb
1.
a. : to cut down (as standing grass, grain) with a scythe or sickle or machine ; especially : to crop (relatively short standing grass) close to the ground with a lawn mower
agreed to mow the grass once a week
b. : to cut the standing grass or grain or similar produce of with a scythe or sickle or machine
mowed the field so as to provide the cattle with fodder
especially : to crop close to the ground the relatively short standing grass of with a lawn mower
mowed the lawn regularly
2.
a.
(1) : to kill or destroy in rapid succession and in great numbers and indiscriminately
mowed down with machine-gun fire
(2) : to kill or destroy with sudden savage swiftness and without mercy or concern
was mowed down by gunmen after being lured from his home — Len Arthur
(3) : to cause to fall from a standing position with sudden impetuous force : cause to tumble from an upright position : bowl over : knock over : knock down
burst through the revolving door and mowed down a couple of shoppers
b. : to meet and overcome swiftly and completely and decisively : make short work of : utterly crush : rout , smash
mow down the opposition — Ira Wolfert
intransitive verb
: to cut down standing grass or grain or similar produce with a scythe or sickle or machine
IV. noun
also mowe ˈmau̇, ˈmō
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English mowe, from Middle French moue, of Germanic origin; akin to Middle Dutch mouwe thick or protruding lip
: a contortion of the face or lips ; especially : a mocking or derisive grimace
watched the monkeys making mows at us
V. intransitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English mowen, from mowe, n.
1. : to contort the face especially so as to produce a mocking or derisive expression : make faces
when the unintelligent brute force that lies at the bottom of society is made to growl and mow — R.W.Emerson
2. : to keep the lips constantly moving and contorting without actually speaking
then he jabbers and mows and trembles — Rudyard Kipling
VI.
variant of mou