- 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 CollocationsFarmingGrowing food and raising animals plant trees/seeds/crops/vines/barley grow/produce corn/wheat/rice/fruit plough/(North American English) plow land/a field sow/harvest seeds/crops/fields spread manure/fertilizer on something cultivate/irrigate/water/contaminate crops/plants/fields/land damage/destroy/lose your crop ripen/pick fruit/berries/grapes press/dry/ferment grapes grind/thresh grain/corn/wheat raise/rear/keep chickens/poultry/cattle/pigs raise/breed/feed/graze livestock/cattle/sheep kill/slaughter livestock preserve/smoke/cure/salt meatModern farming run a fish farm/an organic dairy engage in/be involved in intensive (pig/fish) farming use/apply (chemical/organic) fertilizer/insecticides/pesticides begin/do/conduct field trials of GM (= genetically modified) crops grow/develop GM crops/seeds/plants/foods fund/invest in genetic engineering/research improve/increase crop yields face/suffer from/alleviate food shortages label food that contains GMOs (= genetically modified organisms) eliminate/reduce farm subsidies oppose/be against factory farming/GM food promote/encourage/support organic/sustainable farming Wordfinderfarmarable, barn, crop, cultivate, dairy, fallow, farm, graze, livestock, tractor Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebig, large, little, … verb + farmhave, own, manage, … farm + verbbe located, lie, grow something, … farm + nounproduce, product, animal, … prepositionat a/the farm, down on the farm, on a/the farm, … See full entry See related entries: On the farm, Animal homes
- 2 (also farmhouse) the main house on a farm, where the farmer lives Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebig, large, little, … verb + farmhave, own, manage, … farm + verbbe located, lie, grow something, … farm + nounproduce, product, animal, … prepositionat a/the farm, down on the farm, on a/the farm, … See full entry
- 3(especially in compounds) a place where particular fish or animals are bred a trout/mink/pig farm Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivebig, large, little, … verb + farmhave, own, manage, … farm + verbbe located, lie, grow something, … farm + nounproduce, product, animal, … prepositionat a/the farm, down on the farm, on a/the farm, … See full entry See related entries: Animal homes see also battery farm, collective farm, dairy, factory farm, funny farm, health farm, truck farm, wind farm Word OriginMiddle 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 somebody/something out to somebody. ). The noun came to denote ‘a lease’, and, in the early 16th cent., ‘land leased for farming’. Extra examplesDuring the war, few men were left to work the farm. Farm incomes rose 11% last year. Farm produce, including fruit and corn, was their principal export. He had lived on that farm all his life. I was raised on a country farm. Local farm supply stores are expected to lose business. Republicans hope to pass the farm bill in the current fiscal year. She lives on the next farm. Ten model farms have been set up to showcase modern production methods. The 80-acre farm now operates around the clock. The EU has decided to cut farm subsidies. The area combines a working farm and a farming museum. The children had to work on the family farm. The farm economy was stable. The farm lies on the hills above the lake. The farmer’s wife runs the farm shop. The myth of happy and contented animals down on the farm is now far from the truth. The pigs are raised on factory farms. The police are investigating a fire at a farm near Whitby. Today, the farm sector employs about 3% of our workforce. We anticipate our overall farm production next year to be lower. a dairy farm producing gourmet cheeses a farm growing tobacco a poor farm family an Illinois farm town controversial plans to build a wind farm on the island farm products such as eggs and vegetables the EU farm policy the Kansas farm belt the US farm program for wheat the rolling farm country of central Kentucky village and farm life Critics say that fish farms generate high levels of disease and parasites. Many farm workers face low wages and poor working conditions. The two disused farm buildings have stood empty since we took over the farm ten years ago a fish/trout/mink/pig farmIdioms
(North American English, informal) to risk everything you have on an investment, a bet, etc. The company bet the farm on the new marketing model, only to find that it wasn’t successful.
Check pronunciation: farm
