haystack

IPA/ˈheɪstæk/
KK[hˈestˌæk]IPA/ˈheɪstæk/

haystack — noun

  • haystacksingular
  • haystacksplural

1. a large heap of dried grass left outdoors on a farm until it is fed to animals.

1.nounB2
Definition

a large heap of dried grass left outdoors on a farm until it is fed to animals.

Example

Padma hid behind the haystack while the farm dog ran past her.

behind the haystack (typical location phrase)

After lunch, Andrew climbed onto the haystack and waved to his cousins.

climb onto the haystack (physical farm object)

Common collocations
  • behind the haystack
  • beside the haystack
  • climb onto the haystack
  • cover the haystack
Synonyms
  • hayrick

    older or more British; often suggests a shaped or covered outdoor stack

  • stack

    much broader; can refer to many kinds of piled objects, not only hay

  • bale

    one tied block of hay, not a large loose pile

Grammar Patterns

a haystack in the field

behind/beside the haystack

climb onto the haystack

Usage Note

Usually used for an outdoor pile, often with a place phrase such as in the field or beside the barn. Many learners first meet it in the idiom 'needle in a haystack', but the base noun still names the real farm object.

Common Mistakes

The cows ate from the haystack in the field every night.
The farmer carried hay from the haystack to the cows every night.
a haystack is mainly for storing hay, not the usual place where animals stand to eat.
We kept the bikes in the haystack during the storm.
We kept the bikes in the barn beside the haystack during the storm.
a haystack is an outdoor pile, not an enclosed storage space.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Haystack' names a large pile of loose dried grass kept on a farm until animals need it. 'Hayrick' is close in meaning, but it sounds older and is more common in British writing; it can also suggest a shaped stack with some protection from rain. A 'bale' is much smaller and tightly tied, so farmers lift or move bales one by one, while a haystack stays in one place. 'Stack' is the broad word for any neat pile, such as books, boxes, or plates, and only means stored fodder when the context makes that clear. You might say, 'The children ran around the haystack, while the tractor carried fresh bales into the barn.'

haystack ↗hayrick ↗bale ↗stack ↗

Common collocations

Phrases

  • an old haystack
  • cover the haystack
  • climb onto the haystack

Prepositions

  • behind the haystack
  • beside the haystack
  • near the haystack
  • onto the haystack

Etymology

Old EnglishOld NorseMiddle EnglishModern English

This word is a straightforward English compound: 'hay' comes from Old English and names dried grass used as animal feed, while 'stack' entered English from Old Norse through Middle English and means a pile built up in order. Put together, 'haystack' originally meant exactly what it still means now: a built-up pile of hay stored outdoors on a farm.