verb C1 Advanced

glean

gleen

Glean (verb) means to gather information or knowledge gradually, often bit by bit and with some effort. Example: “Reporters gleaned what they could from unnamed sources.”

verb

To gather information or knowledge gradually, often bit by bit and with some effort.

"Reporters gleaned what they could from unnamed sources."

"From the old letters, historians gleaned new details about her life."

To collect leftover crops from a field after the main harvest.

"Villagers used to glean the fields for grain the harvesters had missed."

How to use glean

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishTo pick up information (or, literally, leftover crops) little by little.

Common mistake

Almost always used figuratively today, for gathering facts or ideas — not literally about farming.

Common pairings

glean information glean details glean insight

Word forms

gleaned past tense, gleaned past tense, glean plural, gleaned plural, gleans plural, gleans plural, gleans singular, glean singular, gleaned singular, gleanest singular, gleanedst singular, gleaneth singular, gleans singular

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Reporters _____ what they could from unnamed sources.

Etymology

From Old French glener, "to gather," ultimately from Late Latin glennare, "to make a collection."

Origin: Late Latin

Rhymes for glean

lean bean wean dean jean Sean mean Kean clean ocean Korean demean

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Frequently asked questions

What does “glean” mean?

The word “glean” means to gather information or knowledge gradually, often bit by bit and with some effort. In plain terms, to pick up information (or, literally, leftover crops) little by little.

How do you pronounce “glean”?

“Glean” is pronounced gleen (/ɡlin/ in IPA).

How do you use “glean” in a sentence?

Here is “glean” used in a sentence: “Reporters gleaned what they could from unnamed sources.”

What part of speech is “glean”?

“Glean” is a verb.

Where does the word “glean” come from?

The word “glean” comes from Late Latin. From Old French glener, "to gather," ultimately from Late Latin glennare, "to make a collection.".

How many meanings does “glean” have?

“Glean” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: to gather information or knowledge gradually, often bit by bit and with some effort.

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