glean
verb
\ ˈglēn
\
\
gleaned;
gleaning;
gleans
Definition of glean
1
: to gather grain or other produce left by reapers
2
: to gather information or material bit by bit
1a
: to pick up after a reaper
b
: to strip of the leavings of reapers
glean a field
2a
: to gather (something, such as information) bit by bit
can glean secrets from his hard drive
b
: to pick over in search of relevant material
gleaning old files for information
3
: find out
The police used old-fashioned detective work to glean his whereabouts.
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Other Words from glean
gleanable
\ ˈglē-nə-bəl
\
adjective
\
adjective
gleaner
noun
Examples of glean in a Sentence
She gleaned her data from various studies.
He has a collection of antique tools gleaned from flea markets and garage sales.
They spent days gleaning the files for information.
They spent hours gleaning in the wheat fields.
gleaning stray ears of corn
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Recent Examples on the Web
The sample size may be too small to glean much about the Bulldogs’ new starter. — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, "Fresno State quarterback Jorge Reyna is unknown factor to USC’s defense," 29 Aug. 2019 Besides probing monkeyflowers' own special biology, researchers are using them to glean more general lessons about plants and animals. — Elizabeth Pennisi, Science | AAAS, "Meet the monkeyflower, a weed that may hold the key to zebra stripes and other biological mysteries," 29 Aug. 2019 Armstrong has studied film of several NFL backs, Todd Gurley and Saquon Barkley among them, to glean visual clues on how to run with better forward lean. — Mike Berardino, Indianapolis Star, "Jafar Armstrong, Tony Jones Jr. set to lead revamped Notre Dame running game," 28 Aug. 2019 By measuring the heat coming from a planet nearly 49 light-years away, astronomers were able to glean some information about the surface of the rocky world—a rare feat in exoplanet science. — Jay Bennett, Smithsonian, "Astronomers Spy the Surface of An Airless Mercury-Like World," 21 Aug. 2019 Investors will also seek to glean further insights into the Federal Reserve’s thinking on interest rates Wednesday, when the central bank releases the minutes to its last meeting of policymakers. — Alex Veiga, USA TODAY, "Tech stocks power solid gains on Wall Street: Dow, S&P 500 jump up," 19 Aug. 2019 There's not a ton to glean from the Cardinals' offense so far, and that is by design. — Katherine Fitzgerald, azcentral, "Five things to watch for as Kyler Murray, Arizona Cardinals take on the Oakland Raiders," 13 Aug. 2019 Through the survey and conversation, Santee hopes to glean insight about the city’s goals and priorities directly from residents. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Santee looking for community to weigh in via survey," 8 Aug. 2019 The press and Democrats gathered around Mueller’s hearing table trying to glean any newsworthy crumbs. — Rich Lowry, National Review, "The Mueller Fizzle," 26 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'glean.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for glean
glean
verb
English Language Learners Definition of glean
: to gather or collect (something) in a gradual way
: to search (something) carefully
: to gather grain or other material that is left after the main crop has been gathered
See the full definition for glean in the English Language Learners Dictionary
glean
verb
\ ˈglēn
\
\
gleaned;
gleaning
Kids Definition of glean
1
: to gather from a field what is left by the harvesters
2
: to gather (as information) little by little with patient effort
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