Longman Dictionary English

Explore Crops Topic Show all entries from Topic: Crops
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Related topics: Crops, Horses, Birds
cropcrop1 /krɒp $ krɑːp/ ●●● W3 noun [countable] 1 TACa plant such as wheat, rice, or fruit that is grown by farmers and used as food → GM The main crops were oats and barley. crop production crops grown for market → cash crop2 TACthe amount of wheat, rice, fruit etc that is produced in a season SYN harvestcrop of this season’s crop of quality pears Fruit growers are gathering in a bumper crop (=a very large amount of something produced in a season). increased crop yields3 → crop of somebody/something4 DSHa short whip used in horse-riding5 HBBthe part under a bird’s throat where food is stored6 DCa very short hairstyle7 → crop of dark hair/blonde curls etcCOLLOCATIONSverbsgrow a cropMany crops are grown from seed every year.plant a cropFarmers burn their fields in preparation for planting crops.harvest/bring in a cropBrazil's coffee crop begins to be harvested in May.produce a cropThe land is so poor that much of the seed will not produce a crop.rotate the crops (=regularly change the crops grown on a piece of land)Crops are sometimes rotated with grass.something destroys/damages a cropWhen disease destroyed the crop, famine followed.a crop fails (=does not grow or produce food properly)The drought meant the crops failed and food was scarce.ADJECTIVES/NOUN + crop the wheat/cereal/rice etc cropIn January farmers prepare the ground for the potato crop.a food cropThe demand for ethanol has reduced the amount of corn grown as a food crop.a cash crop (=grown to be sold rather than used)Cotton is grown as a cash crop in the savannah.an arable/agricultural crop (=grown on farm land)A lot of woodland has been cleared for arable crops.genetically modified crops (also GM crops) (=ones that have had their genetic structure changed)He argues that genetically modified crops are needed to avoid future famines.a staple crop (=an important one that forms a big part of people's diet)staple crops such as rice and wheatan export crop (=grown to be exported)Cocoa is the country's main export crop.crop + NOUNcrop productionThe area is mostly unsuitable for crop production.crop failure (=failure to grow or produce food)Ethiopia's 1989 crop failure was disastrous.crop damageThe storms caused crop damage across the country.crop rotation (=the practice of rotating crops)Crop rotation helps build up soil fertility.
Examples from the Corpus
crop• They cut fences and drive across crops.• Growers lost 80 percent of the apple crop in the storm.• Thanks to the lovely weather we had a bumper crop of peaches and nectarines this year.• Indian farmers have doubled their output of cereal crops like wheat.• Onions are one of the few crops that whitefly does not damage.• Most of the land is used for growing crops.• The barn was filled with harvested crops, leaving only the threshing floor clear.• As a late crop, it was still kingfisher green, and still full of life.• The maize crops have almost completely failed for several years running.• I well remember during one hot dry summer talking to one grower who was complaining about his poor crop of parsnips.• One tractor pulls it, another keeps a trailer moving alongside to receive the crop.• With high-yield varieties of rice the farmers can grow two or three crops a year.• The rain was so bad this year that he lost the whole crop of barley.• The famine was caused by drought, which led to widespread crop failure.• Nevertheless, to protect your crops they must at least be deterred.crop production• There is a herbarium, as well as a laboratory concerned with scientific research and investigation into plants and crop production.• How can it benefit crop production?• The higher concentration boosted crop production by 40 percent in cotton and by 10 percent in wheat.• The amount of new land available for crop production is extremely limited in almost every part of the world.• We can free up meadows for crop production and we are already seeing rainforests stripped out for new farmland.• Yet these earlier occupants would marvel at the advances in crop production.• Such measures inevitably incur substantial costs which in turn increases the cost of crop production.• The already hot, dry countries of the world tend to be the ones with poor crop production and troubled economies.crop of• Just another morning in just another primary: just another crop of emotionally scarred children.• Every year produces a new crop of explanations, a new collection of essays, experiments, and simulations.• For many years, other crops of ash and maple seeds landed and sprouted.• I well remember during one hot dry summer talking to one grower who was complaining about his poor crop of parsnips.• In autumn 1995, each produced a small crop of their designated variety.• The first is under a spring-sown crop of dredge corn, usually in April.• Nor would all the additional acreage have been possible without those crops of tobacco from the 1930s onward.• The big exception is the most vital crop of all: sugar.
Related topics: Photography, Animals, Plants
cropcrop2 verb (cropped, cropping) 1 DC[transitive] to cut someone’s hair short Stella’s had her hair closely cropped.2 TCP[transitive]CUT to cut a part off a photograph or picture so that it is a particular size or shape3 HBA[transitive] if an animal crops grass or other plants, it makes them short by eating them4 HBP[intransitive] British English if a plant crops, it produces fruit, grain etc My strawberries crop in June or July. → crop up→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
crop• She carried a matching jacket, cropped above the waist and short-sleeved, for the Arizona nights had been unusually chilly.• Half-plate pictures, if they are well cropped before being sent out, are equally acceptable.• During the 1970s and 1980s, treatment centers cropped up all over the nation.• Nationally, nearly 50 scooter clubs have cropped up, and scooter runs are held regularly in nearly every state.• However, business lunches may crop up from time to time - and also evening invitations which involve dining at restaurants.• The same species seem to crop up repeatedly.• Once some one has established themselves as being the right sort of chap, then their name crops up time and again.• At that time one of those coincidences, which so often appear in life, cropped up.closely cropped• She was elderly, short, and rather stout, with iron-grey hair closely cropped.• His hair was closely cropped, giving no concessions to the fashionable long-haired male coiffures which he had once enjoyed.• The gaunt faces beneath closely cropped heads and the young faces on emaciated bodies had began to assume form and substance.From Longman Business Dictionarycropcrop /krɒpkrɑːp/ noun [countable]FARMING1a plant such as wheat, rice, or fruit that is grown by farmers in order to be eaten or used in industryThe main crop in China is rice.the cotton crop2the amount of wheat, rice, fruit etc that is produced in a seasonWheat farmers have had a record crop this year. → cash crop → subsistence cropOrigin crop1 Old English cropp “bird's crop, top part of a plant”
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