crop
crop — noun
1. any type of plant — such as wheat, corn, or rice — that farmers raise in large q
any type of plant — such as wheat, corn, or rice — that farmers raise in large quantities for food or other uses; also, the total amount gathered when these plants mature at harvest time
Théo helps his parents harvest the wheat crop every July before school starts.
collocation: harvest the crop
After the heavy rains flooded the fields, the rice crop was much smaller than usual.
collocation: rice crop / wheat crop / corn crop
Cotton is an important cash crop for many farming communities in West Africa.
collocation: cash crop
Hoa's grandfather said this year's apple crop was the sweetest in a decade.
The local farmers lost almost half their potato crop to an early frost in October.
collocation: lose a crop (to weather/pests)
- wheat crop
- rice crop
- cash crop
- crop rotation
- crop yields
- grow a crop
- harvest a crop
- plant a crop
- harvest
focuses on the act of collecting and the gathered result; more seasonal than 'crop'
- produce
refers to fresh fruits and vegetables collectively, especially when sold; less specific about the farming process
- yield
emphasises the amount produced rather than the plant type; common in agricultural reports
Usage Note
Often used with a specific plant name before 'crop' — e.g. corn crop, wheat crop, coffee crop. To describe two growing cycles per year, use 'double cropping' as a related noun phrase.
Common Mistakes
2. a group linked by a shared characteristic, appearing within the same period — fo
a group linked by a shared characteristic, appearing within the same period — for instance, a new batch of students arriving at a school, or several problems arising together
This year's crop of engineering graduates includes several students from Brazil.
collocation: crop of [graduates / recruits / students]
A fresh crop of problems appeared when the new software was installed last week.
Selim was part of a talented crop of young musicians who moved to Berlin in 2019.
pattern: a crop of + people with a shared trait
The latest crop of smartphones all include cameras with night mode.
- a crop of
- fresh crop
- new crop
- this year's crop
- latest crop
- batch
more neutral and everyday; 'batch of cookies' sounds natural, 'crop of cookies' does not
- generation
more specific to people born around the same time or within one product cycle; 'crop' is looser
- wave
metaphor of sequential arrival; 'a new wave of immigrants' emphasises continuous flow
Grammar Patterns
a crop of + noun
Usage Note
Nearly always followed by 'of' + noun. The noun after 'of' names the group's shared category (graduates, problems, films, etc.). A common informal alternative is 'batch'.
3. a hairstyle in which the hair is cut very short, usually close to the head
a hairstyle in which the hair is cut very short, usually close to the head
Hannah decided to get a crop for the summer because the heat was unbearable.
collocation: get / have a crop
The actress wore a neat grey crop that framed her face perfectly.
Nikos prefers a short crop because it takes less time to style in the morning.
When Quinn walked into the salon with a picture of a crop, the barber nodded and picked up the clippers.
concrete scenario: visiting a salon
- short crop
- neat crop
- close crop
- get a crop
- have a crop
- sport a crop
- buzz cut
even shorter, usually same length all over; made with electric clippers
- clipper cut
generic term for any cut made with clippers; less specific than 'crop'
Usage Note
Often used with adjectives describing the length or style — 'short crop', 'neat crop', 'close crop'. Not the same as a 'buzz cut', which is cut with electric clippers to a uniform length; a crop may be slightly longer on top.
Common Mistakes
4. a pouch near the base of a bird's neck where food is softened and held for a sho
a pouch near the base of a bird's neck where food is softened and held for a short time before entering the digestive system
The pigeon's crop was visibly full after it finished pecking at the breadcrumbs.
domain: bird anatomy
Ife studied how the chicken's crop breaks down seeds before digestion.
A bird's crop allows it to eat quickly and digest the food later when resting.
function explanation
During the biology lesson, the teacher showed the class a diagram of a sparrow's crop and stomach.
- bird's crop
- full crop
- crop milk
- crop contents
Usage Note
An anatomical term specific to birds and some insects. In birdwatching guides, 'crop' is sometimes described as a storage pouch. Not used for human anatomy.
5. a short stick with a small leather loop at one end, used by riders to tap or gui
a short stick with a small leather loop at one end, used by riders to tap or guide a horse
Tamar clicked her tongue and gently tapped the horse's side with the crop.
concrete action: tap with a crop
The riding instructor told the students to keep their crop pointed forward at all times.
Manuela hung her riding crop on the hook next to the stable door before brushing the horse.
collocation: riding crop
A good rider uses the crop as a gentle signal, not as a tool for punishment.
usage note: purpose of a crop in riding
- riding crop
- use a crop
- carry a crop
- crop and spurs
- whip
general term; longer and more flexible than a crop
- riding whip
interchangeable with 'riding crop' but slightly less common
Usage Note
Paired with 'riding' to avoid ambiguity with other senses — almost always 'riding crop' in everyday usage. Shorter and lighter than a standard whip.
6. a short piece of clothing for the upper body that ends above the waist, leaving
a short piece of clothing for the upper body that ends above the waist, leaving part of the stomach visible
Eri wore a white crop with high-waisted jeans to the summer music festival.
collocation: wear a crop (top)
The shop window displayed a striped crop in three colours — blue, green, and yellow.
Sana paired her black crop with a long cardigan for a more casual office look.
style context: pairing with other clothing
Crops became popular again in the 2020s as part of the Y2K fashion revival.
- wear a crop
- crop top
- striped crop
- knitted crop
- sportswear crop
- crop top
full form of the abbreviation 'crop'; both are used interchangeably
Usage Note
Short for 'crop top'. Usually worn in warm weather or as a fashion statement. In Taiwan, often called 短版上衣 or 露肚上衣 in casual speech.
the best people or things in a particular group, selected as being of the highest quality
Only the cream of the crop of young scientists are invited to this national research programme.
This vineyard produces the cream of the crop in the whole region — their red wine won three gold medals.
crop — verb
1. to cut off a part of something so that it becomes shorter, neater, or the right
to cut off a part of something so that it becomes shorter, neater, or the right size — this can include trimming hair, cutting a photograph, or shortening a piece of writing
Ingrid asked the barber to crop her hair short for the summer trip to Thailand.
crop hair short
Théo used a photo-editing app to crop the image so only the sunset remained visible.
crop an image / photo
The editor had to crop the article down to eight hundred words to fit the page.
crop a text down to [number] words
Manuela carefully cropped the edges off the printed photo with a pair of scissors.
crop the edges off something
If you crop the sleeves of this jacket, it will fit your arms much better.
- crop hair
- crop an image
- crop a photo
- crop the edges
- crop down to
- lengthen
to make something longer; opposite of cutting short
Grammar Patterns
crop + object
Usage Note
The object is whatever is made shorter — hair, an image, a text, or clothing. When talking about digital images, 'crop' specifically means removing outer areas (unlike 'resize' which changes the overall dimensions).
Common Mistakes
2. (of grazing animals like horses, cattle, or sheep) to take the upper parts of gr
(of grazing animals like horses, cattle, or sheep) to take the upper parts of grass and plants into their mouths as they walk over a field
The sheep cropped the grass neatly right down to the soil in the upper meadow.
transitive: crop the grass
Four horses were cropping peacefully in the field behind Selim's farmhouse.
intransitive use: animals cropping
Hoa watched the goats crop the young shoots off the low bushes along the fence.
transitive: crop + specific plant part
The cattle had cropped the clover so short that new growth would take weeks.
- crop the grass
- crop the field
- crop the shoots
- crop peacefully
- sheep cropping
Grammar Patterns
crop + object (grass/leaves)
crop (no object) — of animals
Usage Note
When used transitively, the object is the plant that is bitten off (grass, shoots, leaves). When used intransitively, the animal is the subject: 'the sheep were cropping in the field.' More specific than 'graze' — implies eating the top parts, not the whole plant.
3. to cut away the outer sections of a digital picture, keeping only the portion th
to cut away the outer sections of a digital picture, keeping only the portion that matters most for the final composition
Sayaka cropped the group photo so that only her friends from the volleyball team were in it.
crop a photo to focus on specific people
Most social media apps let you crop a picture before you post it online.
collocation: crop a picture / image
If you crop the photo here, the building on the left side will be removed entirely.
The designer cropped the background out of the product photo to make the shoes stand out.
crop + out of — removing a specific element
Quinn spent an hour cropping and adjusting the brightness of the wedding photos.
- crop a photo
- crop an image
- crop the picture
- crop out
- crop the background
Grammar Patterns
crop + object (image/photo/picture)
Usage Note
One of the most basic photo-editing operations, alongside resizing and adjusting brightness. When cropping, you choose a rectangular area to keep — everything outside that area is removed. The object is always the image being edited.
Common Mistakes
4. (of a plant or tree) to produce fruit, flowers, or other useful yield during a p
(of a plant or tree) to produce fruit, flowers, or other useful yield during a particular season
The old apple tree in Nikos's garden still crops heavily every autumn without fail.
crop heavily — adverbial of degree
These tomato plants crop much better when they get at least six hours of sunlight daily.
If the cherry trees do not crop this year, the farm will have very little income.
negative conditional: not crop
Élise's lavender bushes cropped beautifully in July, filling the garden with a strong scent.
crop + adverb (beautifully / heavily / poorly)
- crop heavily
- crop well
- crop poorly
- crop every year
- crop in [season]
- bear fruit
literally only about fruit; 'crop' can also apply to flowers, leaves, or other plant products
- yield
more formal and often used in agricultural reporting; 'yield' can be transitive or intransitive
- fail
when a plant does not produce the expected crop
Grammar Patterns
crop (no object) — of a plant
Usage Note
Always intransitive — the plant is the subject, and there is no direct object. Used with adverbs that describe yield quantity: 'crop heavily', 'crop well', 'crop poorly'. This sense is more common in British English and in farming communities.
5. to use a piece of land for growing crops, or to grow a particular type of crop o
to use a piece of land for growing crops, or to grow a particular type of crop on that land
The family has cropped this field with wheat every spring for the past thirty years.
pattern: crop + land + with + crop type
Farmers in this region crop about two hundred hectares of soybeans each season.
crop + area (hectares/acres)
If you crop the same land with corn year after year, the soil will lose its nutrients.
The valley used to be cropped with rice, but now most farmers grow sunflowers instead.
passive: be cropped with
- crop the field
- crop the land
- crop with wheat
- crop with rice
- crop the same area
- leave fallow
to let land rest without planting anything
Grammar Patterns
crop + object (land / field / area)
Usage Note
The object is the land itself, not the plants. When specifying what is grown, use 'crop [land] with [crop]'. This sense is less common in everyday conversation than in agricultural writing or reports.
crop up
phrasal verbto appear or happen without warning, especially when not expected or wanted — used for problems, questions, opportunities, or people who arrive suddenly
Several unexpected issues cropped up during the final week of construction.
Hannah's old friend from university cropped up at the conference after ten years without contact.
If any questions crop up during the meeting, please write them down for later.
Word family
- croppernounC1
- croppedadjectiveB2
- croppingnounC1
- crop topnounB1
Synonym discussion
Sense: noun/1
'Crop' and 'harvest' both refer to plants grown for use, but 'crop' emphasises the plant type and the act of growing it ('wheat is a common crop'), while 'harvest' emphasises the act of gathering the ripened plants ('the autumn harvest was plentiful'). 'Produce' is broader — it refers to fresh fruits and vegetables collectively, especially as items sold in a market ('I bought fresh produce from the stall'); it does not describe a growing cycle. 'Yield' is the most technical and measurement-oriented of the four, used when discussing quantity per area ('the yield per hectare increased'). In practice: a farmer grows a crop, gathers the harvest, sells the produce, and reports the yield.
Common collocations
Etymology
The word 'crop' comes from Old English 'crop' meaning a bird's craw or the top of a plant. This double meaning — a bird's food pouch and a plant's head — already existed over a thousand years ago. By the 1300s it was used for the whole plant harvested from fields. The verb meaning 'to cut short' developed in the 1500s, originally referring to cutting the tops off plants or animals' ears. The modern photo-editing sense is a 20th-century extension of this cutting idea. The horse-whip sense comes from the 1800s, named for the short, cropped handle.