1 [count] a : a plant or plant product that is grown by farmers
▪ corn crops ▪ an apple crop ▪ Tobacco is their main crop. ▪ They sprayed the crops with a pesticide. — sometimes used before another noun ▪ Crop production was low last year because of the lack of rain. ▪ crop disease/damage — see also cash crop
b [count] : the amount of a crop that is gathered at one time or in one season
▪ The second crop [=harvest] was not as good as the first. ▪ The drought caused a fall in this year's corn crop. [=the drought caused the amount of corn grown this year to be lower than it was last year] ▪ We produced a bumper crop of tomatoes [=a very large crop of tomatoes] this year. 2 [singular] a : a group of people who begin to do something at the same time
▪ The teachers got ready for a new crop of students.
b : a group of things that happen or are produced at the same time
▪ a new crop of horror movies ◊People or things that are the cream of the crop are the best of their kind or in their group.
▪ There were many good candidates for the job, but he was the cream of the crop. 3 [count] : a short whip used in horse riding
▪ a riding crop — see picture at horse 4 [count] : a short and thick quantity of hair on a person's head
▪ He has a thick crop of hair. ▪ a crop of red, curly hair 5 [count] : an area in the throat of a bird where food is stored for a time