fallow.

1. Left without a crop for a time, usually as part of a land-management cycle.

2. Temporarily without productive activity, often during an interval of rest or unrealized potential.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a fallow field
• leave land fallow
• a fallow season

On the page

The fallow field looked deserted, though its owner was preparing it for next year's crop.

They crossed land left fallow after the irrigation system failed.

Usage notes

Primary category: setting. Forms: Usually non-gradable for land or a period left unproductive; no ordinary comparative or superlative. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.