agriculture

1 of 2

noun (1)

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)

agriculturist

2 of 2

noun (2)

ag·​ri·​cul·​tur·​ist ¦a-gri-¦kəl-ch(ə-)rist How to pronounce agriculturist (audio)
variants or agriculturalist
ˌa-gri-ˈkəl-ch(ə-)rə-list How to pronounce agriculturist (audio)
plural -s
1
: one trained in the theory or science of agriculture
2
: farmer, husbandman

Synonyms of agriculture

Relevance

Noun (1)

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of agriculture in a Sentence

Noun (1) 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.
Noun
The Field Partner Program began as a pilot in 2025 and is scaling with the 2026 crop, helping brands support regenerative agriculture goals with confidence. — Sj Studio, Footwear News, 27 Oct. 2026 Invasive golden mussels continue to spread through California waterways, increasing concerns about damage to water infrastructure, threats to agriculture and rising costs for boaters and communities. — Nina Burns, CBS News, 27 Oct. 2026 Each university brought its own homegrown innovation — Davis in agriculture, San Diego in biotech, UCLA and Berkeley in computers, medicine and science. — Deputy Managing Editor, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026 Room for Disagreement Iowa is reeling from high gas prices and a moribund agriculture market, causing dissatisfaction with the long-ruling GOP. — Burgess Everett, semafor.com, 26 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for agriculture

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

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

First Known Use

Noun (1)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1731, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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 28 Oct. 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)
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
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
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All