agriculture

The word “agriculture” means the practice of growing crops and raising animals for food and other products. In plain terms, farming — growing crops and raising livestock.

“Agriculture” is pronounced AG-rih-kuhl-chuh (/ˈæɡ.ɹɪˌkʌl.tʃɚ/ in IPA).

Here is “agriculture” used in a sentence: “Agriculture remains the largest employer in many developing countries.”

“Agriculture” is a noun.

The word “agriculture” comes from Latin. From Latin agricultura, from ager ("field") + cultura ("cultivation") — literally "the cultivation of fields.".

“Agriculture” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

Farming is the hands-on activity or business of working a farm. Agriculture is the broader field: the whole practice of growing crops and raising animals for food and other products, including the related science, technology, and industry. All farming is agriculture, but agriculture also covers areas beyond individual farms.

Agriculture is the overall practice of growing crops and raising animals for food and other products. Horticulture is a branch of it focused on cultivating garden crops such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, and ornamental plants, typically on a smaller and more intensive scale. Field crops and livestock fall under agriculture but not horticulture.

The adjective is agricultural, as in agricultural land, agricultural machinery, and agricultural policy. Using agriculture itself as a modifier, as in "agriculture sector," is seen in headlines but agricultural is the standard adjective in careful writing. The person noun is agriculturalist or, less commonly, agriculturist.

Agricultural relates directly to the practice of agriculture: agricultural products, agricultural workers. Agrarian relates to land, its cultivation, and its ownership, and typically describes societies, economies, or reforms, as in "an agrarian economy" or "agrarian reform." You would call a tractor agricultural, not agrarian.