Meaning & use
hay
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Meanings
noununcountable
Dried grass or similar plants used as food for farm animals.
Grammar: Uncountable: some hay, a bale of hay; no plural 'hays'.
Patterns
- a bale of hay
- make hay
- feed hay to animals
The farmer stored the hay in the barn for winter.
The horses ate hay from the rack.
We need to buy more hay for the rabbits.
noununcountable
Grass that has been cut and dried, often in a field.
Grammar: Uncountable; refers to the cut and dried grass as a material.
Patterns
- cut hay
- hay field
- hay in the sun
The field was full of hay drying in the sun.
They cut the hay and left it to dry.
The smell of fresh hay filled the air.
Common combinations
- bale of hay
- He lifted a bale of hay onto the truck.
- hay fever
- Her hay fever makes her sneeze in spring.
- make hay
- The farmers made hay while the sun shone.
- haystack
- The needle was lost in the haystack.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: hay or straw?
hay vs straw
Straw is dried grain stalks, often used for bedding or weaving; hay is dried grass used as animal feed. They are different materials.
Practice
The farmer fed the cows ___ in the winter.
Choose one answer.
Hay is dried grass used as animal feed. Straw is dried stalks used for bedding, not usually as food.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hay”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.