crop

Universal Words noun, verb noun plants for food 1 [C] a plant that is grown in large quantities, especially as food: Sugar has always been an important crop on the island. * crop rotation / production / yield * The crops are regularly sprayed with pesticides. seealsoCASHCROP 2 [C] the amount of grain, fruit, etc. that is grown in one season: a fall in this year's coffee crop * We are looking forward to a bumper crop (= a very large one). group of people 3 [sing.] a ~ of sth a group of people who do sth at the same time; a number of things that happen at the same time: the current crop of graduate trainees * She is really the cream of the crop (= the best in her group). * a crop of disasters / injuries whip 4 [C] a short whip used by horse riders: a riding crop hair 5 [C] a very short hairstyle 6 [sing.] a ~ of dark, fair, etc. hair / curls hair that is short and thick: He had a thick crop of black curly hair. of bird 7 (technical) a part of a bird's throat shaped like a bag where food is stored before it passes into the stomach verb (-pp-) hair 1 to cut sb's hair very short: [VN] closely cropped hair [also VN-ADJ] photograph 2 [VN] (technical) to cut off part of a photograph of animals 3 [VN] to bite off and eat the tops of plants, especially grass: The horses were quietly cropping the grass. plants 4 [V] (of plants) to produce a crop: The potatoes cropped well this year. 5 [VN] to use land to grow crops: The river valley is intensively cropped. PHRASALVERBS crop up to appear or happen, especially when it is not expected: His name just cropped up in conversation. * I'll be late-something's cropped up at the office.