What does furrowed mean?
'Furrowed' describes a surface marked by long, narrow ridges or grooves, most famously the human brow when knitted in worry, confusion, or deep thought. The word derives from 'furrow', the trench cut into soil by a plough, and retains this agricultural origin even in its most common facial application: a worried forehead is said to resemble ploughed earth. Beyond faces and fields, 'furrowed' can describe any similarly ridged surface, such as weathered wood or heavy fabric. It functions chiefly as an adjective, though the underlying verb 'to furrow' is often used reflexively ('she furrowed her brow'). The expression 'a furrowed brow' has become shorthand for concern or mental effort, making the word a useful and evocative addition to descriptive writing about both landscape and human emotion.
adjectiveRidged or grooved, especially with long, narrow channels or wrinkles; of a brow, marked by deep lines of worry or concentration.
- (of a surface, especially skin) marked with long, narrow wrinkles or grooves
- (of land) having been ploughed so that long ridges and trenches run across it
"The farmer's furrowed brow betrayed years of toil under the sun."
"She furrowed her brow in concentration as she worked through the problem."
"The freshly furrowed fields stretched in neat parallel rows toward the horizon."
Your forehead literally records your worries — a deeply furrowed brow can be read like the ploughed lines of an ancient field.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of furrowed
'Furrowed' comes from 'furrow', a word of Old English provenance (furh), meaning the trench cut by a plough, which traces back through Germanic roots shared with related words in other Germanic languages. As farming vocabulary, 'furrow' is ancient and fundamental to English agricultural language. Its use as an adjective describing wrinkled skin developed metaphorically, likening creased brows or aged features to ploughed ground.
Related word forms
How furrowed is actually used
Most commonly encountered in the phrase 'furrowed brow', which signals worry, puzzlement, or intense thought. When applied to farmland, 'furrowed' is purely descriptive rather than emotive. The word carries a neutral register — equally at home in literary description and everyday speech.
Easily confused with furrowed
'Furrowed' means ridged or wrinkled, while 'furloughed' means granted a temporary leave of absence from work duty.