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."
separable
plough under
C1 neutral separable transitive
To bury a crop or plant by ploughing the soil over it; metaphorically, to overwhelm or destroy completely.
In plain English
To push something under the ground with a plough; or to destroy or overwhelm something completely.
What does "plough under" mean?
2 meanings, ordered from most common to least. Color-coded by CEFR level.
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."
separable
Literal vs figurative
Words literally mean
To drag a plough so that material is buried underneath the turned soil.
Actually means
To push something under the ground with a plough; or to destroy or overwhelm something completely.
Usage tip
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.'
Words that pair with "plough under"
Natural word combinations native speakers use most often.
crops weeds competition business debt work
How to conjugate "plough under"
The five tense forms you'll use most often.
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
Hear "plough under" in the wild
Listen to native speakers using "plough under" in real YouTube videos — click a clip to watch it on Looplines.
Keep exploring
Jump to every phrasal verb built on the same verb, particle, or level.