Basic Details
Word: Haystack
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A large pile of dried grass, called hay, stored outdoors on a farm to feed animals.
Synonyms: hayrick
How to Spell Haystack
Syllables: hay - stack
Tricky part: The first part is hay, the dried grass, not hey. The second part ends in ck, as stack does.
Watch out for: heystack, haystak, haystac
Memory tip: Hey is what you call out; hay is what cows eat. A stack of hay is a haystack.
Idioms and Phrases
- like looking for a needle in a haystack: almost impossible to find Example: "Finding my earring on the beach was like looking for a needle in a haystack."
Usage Examples
Example 1: A haystack caught fire after lightning struck the field.
Example 2: A cat was sleeping on top of the haystack in the morning sun.
Example 3: The farmer covered the haystack with a plastic sheet before the storm.
Fun Fact
Farmers often built haystacks with a rounded or pointed top, so that rain would run off the outside instead of soaking into the middle.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the correctly spelt compound word:
a) haystack
b) scarcrow
c) cornfeild
d) wheelbarow
Show answer
a) haystack. Scarecrow keeps the e of scare, wheelbarrow needs a double r, and cornfield has ie.
Word Cookie
Find the misspelt word in the sentence:
Every summer my cousins and I climbed the heystack behind our grandmother's farmhouse in Punjab and watched the sun go down over the wheat fields.
a) wheat
b) cousins
c) heystack
d) farmhouse
Show answer
c) heystack. The dried grass is hay, with an a, so the pile is a haystack.
Spell-o-Spell
Only one of these words is spelt correctly. Choose its meaning:
1. haystack 2. harvist 3. tracter 4. orchad
a) the gathering of ripe crops
b) a heavy farm vehicle that pulls machines
c) a piece of land planted with fruit trees
d) a large pile of dried grass on a farm
Show answer
d) a large pile of dried grass on a farm. Tractor ends in or, harvest has an e, and orchard needs an r before the d.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Hay is made from ____.
a) cotton that has been spun
b) wheat grains that have been ground
c) grass that has been cut and dried
d) leaves that have been boiled
Show answer
c) grass that has been cut and dried
2. Which animal would be most glad to see a haystack?
a) a shark
b) a parrot
c) a cow
d) a crocodile
Show answer
c) a cow
