<p><strong>Verb (used with object)</strong></p><ul><li>To gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit.</li><li>To gather small amounts of (grain or the like) left behind after a harvest, nowadays often for charitable use.</li><li>To clear (a field, orchard, etc.) of leftover produce in this way: Millet’s painting <em>The Gleaners</em> depicts three peasant women stooping low as they glean a field of wheat.</li><li>To learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly.</li><li>Synonyms: infer, extract, derive, deduce, reap, gather.</li></ul><p><strong>Verb (used without object)</strong></p><ul><li>To collect or gather anything little by little or slowly.</li><li>To gather what is left by reapers.</li></ul>