To glean means to gather or collect information, resources, or knowledge gradually, typically from various sources or after the main effort has been made. The term originates from agricultural practices, where it referred to the act of picking up leftover crops after the main harvest. In a broader sense, gleaning implies collecting bits and pieces of something—be it ideas, insights, or physical items—often in a careful and methodical way. In Indonesian, “memetik” or “mengumpulkan” can be used depending on the context, with a focus on picking up or collecting small parts of something.
Synonyms:
- Collect
- Harvest
- Gather
- Extract
- Accumulate
- Acquire
- Pull together
- Scrape together
- Assemble
- Assemble bits and pieces
Example Sentences:
- After the interview, I tried to glean as much information as possible about the company’s culture.
- She gleaned a lot of knowledge from the seminar on time management.
- The detective was able to glean crucial details from the witness statements.
- He gleaned valuable insights from the report to improve his business strategy.
- The journalist gleaned a few interesting facts while researching the story.
- From the scraps of paper, she managed to glean the important points of the conversation.
- He took months to glean the necessary information for his research paper.
- As she listened to different opinions, she gleaned a deeper understanding of the issue.
- The historian gleaned pieces of the past from old documents and artifacts.
- After spending hours in the archives, she managed to glean enough evidence to support her thesis.
Related Words:
- Collect
- Accumulate
- Gather
- Extract
- Harvest
- Assemble
- Scrape
- Compile
- Conclude
- Piece together
Related Phrasal Verbs:
- Glean from (to collect or extract information from a source)
- Pick up (gather bits of information or knowledge)
- Pull together (to collect and organize scattered information or materials)
- Scrape together (gather something in small amounts or with difficulty)
- Sort out (to organize or make sense of collected pieces of information)
- Sift through (to carefully examine and collect useful details)
- Take away (to gather information or lessons from an experience)
- Dig up (to find or gather information, often after some effort)
- Piece together (to combine parts or bits of information into a coherent whole)
- Rack up (to accumulate or gather something, often over time)
Idiomatic Expressions:
- Sift through the details (carefully examine information to gather important points)
- Pick up the pieces (to gather or repair something after it’s been broken or disrupted)
- Put the puzzle together (to gather or piece together information or details)
- Take the best of both worlds (glean benefits or ideas from two sources or options)
- In bits and pieces (gathering information gradually or in small parts)
- Keep one’s ear to the ground (to stay informed and glean information or knowledge)
- Build from scratch (to glean or gather the necessary resources from the beginning)
- One step at a time (gathering knowledge or information gradually)
- Catch a glimpse of (to gather a small amount of information or insight, often briefly)
- Piece by piece (collecting or putting things together gradually, in small increments)
To glean is a process of acquiring something bit by bit, usually after the main effort has passed. It implies patience and careful observation, whether you’re gathering information, resources, or experiences. The act of gleaning suggests a meticulous approach, often highlighting the importance of attention to detail or persistence in collecting what might otherwise be overlooked.