Word
reap
US/ˈɹip/
UK/ɹˈiːp/
Definitions
01to harvest crops
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to cut and collect grain or other crops from a field when they are ready.
v. to harvest a crop by cutting it with a tool or machine. Transitive, often associated with traditional agriculture.
“The farmers worked from dawn until dusk to reap the wheat before the storm arrived.”
“In the pre-industrial era, entire villages would gather to reap the barley by hand, ensuring the grain was stored before the autumn rains.”
Usage
Often used with 'harvest' as a direct object.
02to get a reward or result
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to get something, like a benefit or a punishment, because of something you did in the past.
v. to obtain or receive something as a consequence of previous actions. Frequently appears in the idiom 'reap the benefits' or 'reap the rewards'.
“After years of hard work, she is finally starting to reap the rewards of her success.”
“The company began to reap the benefits of its early investment in renewable energy, seeing a significant rise in quarterly profits.”
Usage
Commonly used in the metaphorical phrase 'reap what you sow'.
03to manage child processes
C2 · Proficiency Computing Technical
v. to clean up a finished computer process so it does not waste memory.
v. to acknowledge the exit status of a terminated child process, removing its entry from the system process table.
“The system needs to reap the finished processes to keep the server running smoothly.”
“If the parent process fails to reap its children, the system may become cluttered with zombie processes that consume process IDs.”
Teaching tip
This is a highly specialized term in Unix-like operating systems; learners will likely only encounter it in systems programming.
04a bundle of grain
C2 · Proficiency Countable noun Archaic · Literary
n. a small bundle of grain that has just been cut.
n. a handful or bundle of grain laid down by a reaper during the harvesting process.
Español:mies
“He left a small reap of corn on the ground for the birds to find.”
“The field was dotted with reaps of golden wheat, waiting to be gathered into larger sheaves for transport.”
Usage
Rare in modern English; primarily found in historical or agricultural texts.
Synonyms
Collocations
Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “reap” in context.
Verb
01. reap benefit
“The company is starting to reap the benefits of its long-term investment in technology.”
verb + noun
Real-World Examples
“And before we go to the moon again, let’s reap the benefits strangers in our midst offer.” “So how can you begin to reap the benefits?” “In other words: You reap what you sow.” Etymology
From Middle English repen, from Old English rēopan, rēpan, variants of Old English rīpan (“to reap”), from Proto-West Germanic rīpan, from Proto-Germanic rīpaną (compare West Frisian repe, Norwegian ripa (“to score, scratch”)), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁reyb- (“to snatch”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
VERB
NOUN
Idioms
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
- アルファベット
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/reap
Traducciones: Kaikki.org (Wiktionary), CC BY-SA 4.0