Fallow: meaning, pronunciation and examples
Fallow adjective. Of farmland, ploughed but left unsown for a season so the soil can recover.
How to say it
FAL-oh/ˈfæləʊ/
2 syllables, stressed on the first (FAL).
Meanings
- Of farmland, ploughed but left unsown for a season so the soil can recover.
- Quiet and unproductive for a while.
Fallow in a sentence
The farmer leaves one field fallow each year so the soil can rest.
After the book came out she had a fallow spell and wrote nothing for months.
Similar and opposite
Similar:
- uncultivated
- unsown
- resting
- idle
Opposite:
- cultivated
- productive
Where fallow comes from
From Old English fealh, ploughed land.
Test yourself
Which word fills the gap?
After the book came out she had a _____ spell and wrote nothing for months.
- fallow
- fluvial
- bucolic
Show the answer
fallow: After the book came out she had a fallow spell and wrote nothing for months.