1 C1 neutral
To reduce the size or scope of a farming operation.
"After their youngest son moved to the city, they decided to farm down and sell half their cattle."
separable
farm down
C1 formal separable transitive
To reduce the scale of a farming operation, or (in finance) to sell down a portion of a working interest while retaining some stake.
In plain English
To make a farm smaller, or to sell part of an investment while keeping the rest.
What does "farm down" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
2 C1 idiomatic formal
(Oil and gas finance) To sell a portion of a working interest to another party while retaining a share.
"The company farmed down 40% of its stake in the North Sea block to reduce exploration risk."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To bring a farm operation down in size.
Actually means
To make a farm smaller, or to sell part of an investment while keeping the rest.
Usage tip
Used in two distinct contexts: (1) agriculture — reducing livestock or crop operations; (2) oil and gas finance — selling a percentage of a working interest to another party. The financial sense is highly specialised.
Words that pair with "farm down"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
operation acreage interest stake herd livestock
How to conjugate "farm down"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
Base
farm down
I/you/we/they
3rd person
farms down
he/she/it
Past simple
farmed down
yesterday
Past participle
farmed down
have + pp
-ing form
farming down
continuous
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