Meaning

(transitive) To cut (for example a grain) with a sickle, scythe, or reaping machine..

Definitions by Sense

1. (transitive) To cut (for example a grain) with a sickle, scythe, or reaping machine.
2. (transitive) To gather (e.g. a harvest) by cutting.
3. (transitive) To obtain or receive as a reward, in a good or a bad sense.
4. (transitive, computer science) To terminate a child process that has previously exited, thereby removing it from the process table.
5. (transitive, obsolete) To deprive of the beard; to shave.
6. (euphemistic, slang) To rape.
7. A bundle of grain; a handful of grain laid down by the reaper as it is cut.

Example Sentences

And when ye reape the haruest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reape the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleanings of thy haruest.

to reap a benefit from exertions

Be not deceiued, God is not mocked: for whatsoeuer a man soweth, that shall he also reape.

Why do I humble thus my ſelf, and ſuing / For peace, reap nothing but repulſe and hate?

And what delights can equal those ⁠That stir the spirit’s inner deeps, ⁠When one that loves but knows not, reaps A truth from one that loves and knows?

England manager Roy Hodgson got plenty right with a positive selection and the decision to play Rooney in midfield reaped a rich reward - but his boldest move may also have been his biggest mistake.

Until a child process is reaped, it may be listed in the process table as a zombie or defunct process.

Came there a certaine Lord, neat and trimly drest; Fresh as a Bride-groome, and his Chin new reapt,

Word Forms

• reaps
• reaping
• reaped
• reapt

Synonyms for reap

Related Words

When Should You Use Reap?

Use reap when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

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