yield

YEELD /jiːld/
nounverbB2GRESATIELTSGMAT
generalacademic

The total quantity of agricultural or industrial product produced; or to produce/surrender.

In agricultural economics, it measures crop output per unit of land area.

The story behind the word. From Old English 'gieldan', which originally meant to pay out, give back, or render tribute. Over centuries, the word transitioned from financial payments to describe what the soil gives back to the farmer in response to labor.

Word relationships

  • output: Output is generic production volume; yield specifically measures harvest volume per unit of land or input.
  • harvest: Harvest is the act or season of gathering crops, whereas yield is the measured volume gathered.
  • loss: Loss refers to the destruction or deficit of resource rather than production.

Commonly confused with

  • field: A field is the piece of land where crops grow; yield is the total crop produced from that land.

Word family

  • yielding (adjective): Giving way to pressure or producing results.

Collocations

  • crop yield
  • high yield
  • yield per hectare
  • diminishing yields

Idioms & expressions

  • yield fruit

Example sentences

  • "Improved irrigation techniques significantly increased the wheat yield per acre." Crop science report

Memory hook

YIELD is what the field WILL YIELD (give back) after farming. Field gives yield.

When not to use

Do not confuse agricultural yield with financial dividend yield unless specifying financial return contexts.

Fun facts

  • The Green Revolution of the 1960s doubled global grain yields through dwarf wheat varieties and synthetic fertilizers.

Related words

arable, cultivate

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