furrow

A furrow is a long, narrow line or groove cut into a surface. In farming, it is the track a plow makes in the soil, often to prepare for planting. The word is also often used for the lines that appear on a person's forehead when they are worried, thinking hard, or confused. You can picture a detective furrowing his brow as he works through a difficult case. In both uses, the idea is the same: a clear, narrow line pressed into earth or skin.

In its most literal sense, a furrow is a long, narrow groove made in the ground by a plow, especially when land is being prepared for seeds. You can picture a field marked with dark, parallel lines stretching across the soil. "The farmer carefully guided his tractor along each furrow."

The word is also commonly used for lines in the skin, especially on the forehead or between the eyebrows. These lines often appear when someone is worried, concentrating, or puzzled. "A deep furrow appeared between her eyes as she listened to the news." To furrow one's brow is a common expression meaning to draw the eyebrows together in a way that shows concern, thought, or confusion.

By extension, the word can be used for any long groove or channel made in a surface, though the farming sense and the facial-expression sense are the ones you will meet most often. The idea running through all these uses is simple: something has made a marked line, whether in earth, skin, or another surface. So when you hear furrow, think of a narrow groove shaped by pressure, movement, or time.