reaping the harvest

Collecting the yield

Reaping the harvest is gathering crops at maturity—the culmination of a growing season's work.

The phrase extends to collecting rewards from any sustained effort: After years of research, the company is finally reaping the harvest of its investment.

The biblical overtone of reaping what you sow colors the expression, suggesting earned consequences rather than luck.

profitGain exceeding expenditure
fruitionAttainment of goals
bumper cropUnusually large harvest
payoffCulminating benefit received
threshingExtracting grain from stalks

seeds planted · winnowing · yield · culmination · karma · productivity · reward · perseverance · effort · dividends · investment · consequence · diligence · sustainability · growth · pruning · gleaning · bounty

Opposites

agricultural cycle stage

reaping the harvestplanting

Placing seeds in earth

tilling the soil · seeding · cultivating · breaking ground · starting from scratch

effort-reward relationship

reaping the harvestsowing

Planting for cultivation

putting in the work · burning the midnight oil

abundance vs. scarcity

reaping the harvestgoing hungry

Experiencing prolonged food deprivation

crop failure · reaping the whirlwind · starving · famine · drought

Family

reaps, reaped, reaper, reapers, reaping, harvest, harvests, harvested, harvesting

Familiarity: Top 200,000
Profile: Known to kids · Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Positive · Everyday, not technical · Rated G