What does mowed mean?
Mowed means that grass, vegetation, or a crop has been cut, usually with a powered mower. It is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb “mow,” so it appears in statements such as “She mowed the lawn” and “The grass has been mowed.” In ordinary use, the word most often refers to cutting grass with a lawnmower, though it can also mean harvesting a field of hay, grain, or another standing crop. The word carries no strongly negative connotation and is simply a factual description of a common agricultural or domestic activity. Mowed can also function before a noun, as in “freshly mowed grass,” where it describes the result of the action. Its literary alternative, “mown,” lends a more traditional or pastoral tone and is especially familiar from older writing and formal expressions.
verbMowed is the simple past tense and past participle of mow, meaning to cut grass, vegetation, or a standing crop with a mowing machine or similar implement.
- To cut grass or other vegetation, especially with a lawnmower.
- To cut or harvest a standing crop, such as hay, grain, or clover.
"He mowed the lawn before the neighbourhood barbecue."
"They mowed the grass along the field boundary."
"The farmer mowed the wheat before the storm arrived."
The literary form “mown” survives in phrases such as “mown fields,” giving an ordinary mowing job a distinctly pastoral ring.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does mowed come from?
The verb “mow” comes from Old English “māwan,” meaning to cut grass or crops. It developed through Middle English and is related cognately to Dutch “maaien,” German “mähen,” and Norwegian “meie,” all referring to mowing. The modern form “mowed” is the regular past-tense and past-participle inflection of that inherited English verb.
Related word forms
How mowed is actually used
The form “mowed” is standard in everyday British and US English. The alternative past participle “mown” is now chiefly literary or traditional, as in “a mown field.”