farm out en · VERB · etymology 1
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
From farm + out.
Meanings
-
(idiomatic, transitive) To subcontract (a task, responsibility, etc.) to another; to outsource.
The U.S. military had hoped to farm out the Bagram detainees to prisons run by Afghanistan and other nations.
2009 January 5, Mark Thompson, “Another Gitmo Grows in Afghanistan”, in Time:These companies are simply paper companies . . . they farm out the contracts to the real builders.
1911, Upton Sinclair, The Machine, act II:Every Tehsildary is farmed out in villages to the Gours or head-men.
c. 1800, Munro's Life, iii. 92:The summer of 1976 founnd Jacqui at the Pied Piper in Provincetown doing disco seven nights a week. Come fall, Jacqui farmed out her talents to four separate gay bars — three in Boston and one in Tyngsboro, Mass.
1977 December 31, Lisa Nussbaum, “Jacqui Mac: Bringing Her Dreams Together”, in Gay Community News, volume 4, number 26, page 10:Near-synonym: sub out
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| farms out | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| farmed out | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| farmed out | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| farming out | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |