Meaning & use
husbandry
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Meanings
noununcountable
The work of growing crops and raising farm animals, especially when done with careful planning.
Grammar: Has no plural and takes no article in general use: animal husbandry, not an animal husbandry.
Patterns
- husbandry of something
She studied animal husbandry at an agricultural college.
Good husbandry means rotating fields so the soil stays healthy.
Many small farms are returning to traditional husbandry methods.
noununcountableformalold-fashioned
Careful and thrifty management of money, supplies or other resources.
Grammar: Usually followed by of: the husbandry of public funds.
Patterns
- husbandry of something
The treasurer was praised for her husbandry of the club's modest funds.
Wise husbandry of water is vital in a dry region.
The old captain was known for his careful husbandry of ship's supplies.
Common combinations
- animal husbandry
- Animal husbandry covers feeding, breeding and health care.
- good husbandry
- Good husbandry keeps the herd healthy through winter.
- sustainable husbandry
- The farm promotes sustainable husbandry to protect the land.
- crop husbandry
- Crop husbandry includes planting, weeding and harvesting.
- poor husbandry
- Poor husbandry left the pasture bare and the animals thin.
Synonyms and how they differ
- farming
- The everyday word for the same work, whereas husbandry sounds more technical and stresses careful management.
- agriculture
- Refers to the whole field or industry, while husbandry focuses on the day-to-day care of crops and livestock.
- stewardship
- Fits careful management of any resource or responsibility, and is less tied to farm work than husbandry.
- thrift
- Stresses saving money, while husbandry in its general sense stresses wise use of resources.
Opposites
Word family
- husband verb
- to use resources carefully and sparingly, as in husband your strength
- husbandman noun
- an old word for a farmer
- housekeeping noun
- a related idea of managing a household's resources
Commonly confused: husbandry or husband?
husbandry vs husband
A husband is a married man; husbandry comes from an older sense of the word meaning a manager of a household or farm, and has nothing to do with marriage.
Practice
The college offers a course in animal ____, covering breeding, feeding and veterinary care.
Choose one answer.
Animal husbandry is the fixed phrase for caring for and breeding livestock. Agriculture is broader and does not combine with animal in this way, and the other options do not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “husbandry”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.