agriculture

noun

ag·​ri·​cul·​ture ˈa-gri-ˌkəl-chər How to pronounce agriculture (audio)
Synonyms of agriculture
: the science, art, or practice of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock and in varying degrees the preparation and marketing of the resulting products
cleared the land to use it for agriculture
agriculturist
ˌa-gri-ˈkəl-ch(ə-)rist How to pronounce agriculture (audio)
noun
or agriculturalist
ˌa-gri-ˈkəl-ch(ə-)rə-list How to pronounce agriculture (audio)

Synonyms of agriculture

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of agriculture in a Sentence

They cleared the land to use it for agriculture. the forest was cut down, and the land given over to agriculture
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Those tensions will be on display this week at the Farm Progress Show, billed as the nation’s largest outdoor agriculture show. — Bloomberg, Chicago Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026 Investors should scoop up shares of Deere as the outlook for agriculture in North America improves, according to Baird. — Fred Imbert, CNBC, 31 Aug. 2026 The researchers hope that in the future it will be used to identify counterfeit perfumes, detect pesticide contamination in olive oil, and offer better quality control across agriculture in general. — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 31 Aug. 2026 Water systems, domestic manufacturing, elder care and agriculture are all enormous, under-digitized, and short on people who can build. — Lisa Curtis, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for agriculture

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin agricultura, from ager field + cultura cultivation — more at acre, culture entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of agriculture was in the 15th century

Phrases Containing agriculture

Rhymes for agriculture

See All Rhymes for agriculture

Browse Nearby Words

agricultural paper
agriculture
agriculturist
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Agriculture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agriculture. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

agriculture

noun
ag·​ri·​cul·​ture ˈag-ri-ˌkəl-chər How to pronounce agriculture (audio)
: the science or occupation of cultivating the soil, producing crops, and raising livestock : farming
agriculturist
ˌag-ri-ˈkəlch- (ə-)rəst How to pronounce agriculture (audio)
noun
or agriculturalist
-(ə-)rə-ləst How to pronounce agriculture (audio)
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of dissonant

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All