farm

noun

1. (countable)A place where agricultural and similar activities take place, especially the growing of crops or the raising of livestock.
2. (countable)A tract of land held on lease for the purpose of cultivation.
3. (countable, in-compounds, often)A location used for an industrial purpose, having many similar structures.

   “antenna farm; fuel farm; solar farm; wind farm”

   “The skies are threatening to pour on the Apple solar farm but as the woman in-charge of the company’s environmental initiatives points out: the panels are still putting out some power. Apple is still greening its act.”

4. (countable)A group of coordinated servers.

   “a render farm”

   “a server farm”

5. (obsolete)Food; provisions; a meal.
6. (obsolete)A banquet; feast.
7. (obsolete)A fixed yearly amount (food, provisions, money, etc.) payable as rent or tax.

   “If a man be bounden unto 1.s. in 100.l.£ to grant unto him the rent and farme of such a Mill.”

   “All..Tythings shall stand at the old Farm, without any Increase.”

   “The most usual and customary feorm or rent..must be reserved yearly on such lease.”

8. (historical)A fixed yearly sum accepted from a person as a composition for taxes or other moneys which he is empowered to collect; also, a fixed charge imposed on a town, county, etc., in respect of a tax or taxes to be collected within its limits.

   “He [the Sheriff] paid into the Exchequer the fixed yearly sum which formed the farm of the shire.”

9. (historical)The letting-out of public revenue to a ‘farmer’; the privilege of farming a tax or taxes.

   “The first farm of postal income was made in 1672.”

10. The body of farmers of public revenues.

    “They despair of a suppression of the Farm.”

11. The condition of being let at a fixed rent; lease; a lease.

    “It is a great willfullnes in any such Land-lord to refuse to make any longer farmes unto their Tennants.”

    “Thence the Leases so made were called Feormes or Farmes, which word signifieth Victuals.”

    “The words demise, lease, and to farm let, are the proper ones to constitute a lease.”

12. (historical)A baby farm.

    “Oliver’s sobs checked his utterance for some minutes; when he was on the point of beginning to relate how he had been brought up at the farm, and carried to the workhouse by Mr. Bumble, a peculiarly impatient little double-knock was heard at the street-door: and the servant, running upstairs, announced Mr. Grimwig.”

verb

1. (intransitive)To work on a farm, especially in the growing and harvesting of crops.
2. (transitive)To devote (land) to farming.
3. (transitive)To grow (a particular crop).
4. To give up to another, as an estate, a business, the revenue, etc., on condition of receiving in return a percentage of what it yields; to farm out.

   “to farm the taxes”

   “[The East-India Company] have contrived to farm their subjects, and their duties toward these subjects, to that very Nabob, whom they themselves constantly represent as an habitual oppressor and a relentless tyrant.”

5. (obsolete, transitive)To lease or let for an equivalent, e.g. land for a rent; to yield the use of to proceeds.

   “We are enforced to farm our royal realm.”

6. (obsolete, transitive)To take at a certain rent or rate.

   “In Paris it is stated that nearly half the birth-rate of the city finds its way to nurses who farm babies in the suburbs.”

7. (Internet)To engage in grinding (repetitive activity) in a particular area or against specific enemies for a particular drop or item.

   “When you hit a black pudding with an iron weapon that does at least one point of damage there is a good chance it will divide into two black puddings of the same size (but half the hit points IIRC). […] When eaten black puddings confer several intrinsics so AC [armor class] is not the only potential benefit. […] Since black puddings are formidible^([sic]) monsters for an inexperienced character, farming is also a good way to die.”

   “The practice of gold farming is controversial within gaming communities and violates the end user licensing agreements[…]”

8. (Internet)To cultivate and/or disseminate through artificial algorithm-incentivized means.

   “This type of SEO farming can be massively lucrative. Digital marketers have built an entire industry on top of credit card affiliate links, from which they then earn a generous profit.”

   “Will AI slop farming ultimately exhaust the soil of online spaces? Will people flee the slop, tolerate it, or even welcome it? Will we ultimately come to love slop?”

   “X's suspension of the Stake-linked accounts and the UK Gambling Commission's enforcement action represent the first significant consequences for clip farming.”

9. (Internet, derogatory)To cultivate and/or disseminate through artificial algorithm-incentivized means.
10. (UK, dialectal)To cleanse; clean out; put in order; empty; empty out

    “Farm out the stable and pigsty.”

name

1. (UK, slang)Broadwater Farm, an area of Tottenham, North London, England.

   “And before you mention the plans to fix up the Farm, let me tell you, all that regeneration talk is just about bulldozing the place and shipping us all out to God knows where.”