Word.ws English Dictionary

reaped what one had sown

reaped what one had sown is the simple past of reap what one sows.

Meaning of reap what one sows

Verb

reap what one sows (third-person singular simple present reaps what one sows, present participle reaping what one sows, simple past reaped what one sowed or reaped what one had sown, past participle reaped what one has sown or reaped what one had sown)

  1. To receive as a return or reward in the same measure as one's exertions or intentions, in a good or a bad sense; to receive justice or one's just deserts.
    • You're going to reap just what you sow1972, Lou Reed, “Perfect Day”

Questions about reaped what one had sown

What is reaped what one had sown the simple past of?
Reaped what one had sown is the simple past of reap what one sows.

Words near reaped what one had sown in the dictionary

  1. reape
  2. reaped
  3. reaped the benefits
  4. reaped the harvest
  5. reaped the whirlwind
  6. reaped what one had sown
  7. reaped what one has sown
  8. reaped what one sowed
  9. reaper
  10. reaper-binder
  11. reaper-binders

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: reaped what one had sown (page history and authors); reap what one sows (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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