reap

Everyday

1. To cut and gather a crop, like wheat, from a field: «Farmers reap the corn in late summer.» tree →
2. To get something good (or bad) as a result of what you have done: «reap the rewards», «reap the benefits». tree →
3. (Bible) «You reap what you sow»: what you do now decides what will happen to you later (Galatians 6:7). tree →

In the lessons

In history and farming lessons reaping is harvest work, once done with sickles and scythes; in everyday life and morals people «reap the rewards» of hard work. In church the harvest festival gives thanks for what is reaped. Phrases: «reap the rewards», «reap the benefits», «reap what you sow», «reap a harvest».

Examples

• In the past, whole families helped reap the wheat by hand. tree →
• If you practise every day, you will reap the rewards. tree →
• You reap what you sow, so be kind. tree →
• The farmers reaped a good harvest this year. tree →
• The school reaped the benefits of its new library. tree →
• The Grim Reaper is a made-up figure of death carrying a scythe. tree →
• "This wheat is now ready for reaping," said the Farmer. tree →

Note

Regular verb: reap, reaped. Related: reaper (a person or machine that reaps; «the Grim Reaper» is a symbol of death in stories). Opposite pair: sow (plant seeds) and reap (harvest). Do not confuse with «rip» or «leap».

In Jewish tradition

In Psalms, those who sow in tears will reap in joy. In Job and Proverbs, those who sow wrong and mischief will reap the same, so what you do comes back to you.

Interpretation. This is the law of peah. In the seventh and jubilee years the land is left to rest, and one does not reap what grows of itself. The tradition reads the Psalm as hope that sorrow will turn to joy, and the Proverbs as a lesson that actions have results.

Examples

• And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest. (Torah LEV.19.9, JPS 1917) tree →
• A jubilee shall that fiftieth year be unto you; ye shall not sow, neither reap that which groweth of itself in it, nor gather the grapes in it of the undressed vines. (Torah LEV.25.11, JPS 1917) tree →
• That which groweth of itself of thy harvest thou shalt not reap, and the grapes of thy undressed vine thou shalt not gather; it shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. (Torah LEV.25.5, JPS 1917) tree →
• They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. (Writings PSA.126.5, JPS 1917) tree →
• According as I have seen, they that plow iniquity, and sow mischief, reap the same. (Writings JOB.4.8, JPS 1917) tree →
• He that soweth iniquity shall reap vanity; and the rod of his wrath shall fail. (Writings PRO.22.8, JPS 1917) tree →

Note

Regular verb: reap, reaped. Related: reaper (a person or machine that reaps; «the Grim Reaper» is a symbol of death in stories). Opposite pair: sow (plant seeds) and reap (harvest). Do not confuse with «rip» or «leap».