plough under
C1 neutral separable transitive
In simple words
To push something under the ground with a plough; or to destroy or overwhelm something completely.
Literal meaning: To drag a plough so that material is buried underneath the turned soil.
Meanings
1 B2 neutral
(Agriculture) To bury a crop or plant material by ploughing the soil over it.
"The cover crop was ploughed under in spring to add nitrogen to the soil."
Grammar: separable
2 C1
idiomatic
neutral
(Chiefly US, metaphorical) To overwhelm, destroy, or cause something to fail completely.
"Many family farms were ploughed under by corporate agriculture."
Grammar: separable
Usage notes
Primarily American English in its idiomatic use. In agriculture, cover crops are ploughed under to enrich the soil. Metaphorically: 'small businesses ploughed under by the recession.'
Commonly used with
crops weeds competition business debt work
Forms
Base
plough under
I/you/we/they
3rd person
ploughs under
he/she/it
Past simple
ploughed under
yesterday
Past participle
ploughed under
have + pp
-ing form
ploughing under
continuous
Understand "plough under" better
Try:
Real video examples
Video examples are being collected. Check back soon.
Want to master this phrasal verb?
Practice "plough under" on Looplines