grass

¹ American  

[gras, grahs] / græs, grɑs /

noun

1. any plant of the family Gramineae, having jointed stems, sheathing leaves, and seedlike grains.

2. such plants collectively, as when cultivated in lawns or used as pasture for grazing animals or cut and dried as hay.

3. the grass-covered ground.

4. pasture.

   Half the farm is grass.

5. Slang.  marijuana.

6. grasses, stalks or sprays of grass.

   filled with dried grasses.

7. the season of the new growth of grass.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cover with grass or turf.

2. to feed with growing grass; pasture.

3. to lay (something) on the grass, as for the purpose of bleaching.

verb (used without object)

1. to feed on growing grass; graze.

2. to produce grass; become covered with grass.

idioms

1. go to grass,  to retire from one's occupation or profession.

   Many executives lack a sense of purpose after they have gone to grass.

2. let the grass grow under one's feet,  to delay action, progress, etc.; become slack in one's efforts.

Grass ² American  

[grahs, grahs] / grɑs, grɑs /

noun

1. Günter (Wilhelm) 1927–2015, German novelist, poet, and playwright.

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grass ¹ British  

/ ɡrɑːs /

noun

1. any monocotyledonous plant of the family Poaceae (formerly Gramineae ), having jointed stems sheathed by long narrow leaves, flowers in spikes, and seedlike fruits. The family includes cereals, bamboo, etc

2. such plants collectively, in a lawn, meadow, etc

3. any similar plant, such as knotgrass, deergrass, or scurvy grass

4. ground on which such plants grow; a lawn, field, etc

5. ground on which animals are grazed; pasture

6. a slang word for marijuana

7. slang  a person who informs, esp on criminals

8. short for sparrowgrass

9. informal  an exclamation of disbelief

10. to squander time or opportunity

11. 1. to retire (a racehorse)

    2. informal  to retire (a person)

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verb

1. to cover or become covered with grass

2. to feed or be fed with grass

3. (tr) to spread (cloth) out on grass for drying or bleaching in the sun

4. (tr) sport to knock or bring down (an opponent)

5. (tr) to shoot down (a bird)

6. (tr) to land (a fish) on a river bank

7. slang  to inform, esp to the police

Grass ² British  

/ ɡras /

noun

1. Günter ( Wilhelm ) (ˈɡyntər). born 1927, German novelist, dramatist, and poet. His novels include The Tin Drum (1959), Dog Years (1963), The Rat (1986), Crabwalk (2002), and Peeling the Onion (2007). Nobel prize for literature 1999

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grass Scientific  

/ grăs /

1. Any of a large family (Gramineae or Poaceae) of monocotyledonous plants having narrow leaves, hollow stems, and clusters of very small, usually wind-pollinated flowers. Grasses include many varieties of plants grown for food, fodder, and ground cover. Wheat, maize, sugar cane, and bamboo are grasses.

2. See more at leaf

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grass More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing grass

• don't let the grass grow under one's feet
• put out to grass
• snake in the grass

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Other Word Forms

• grassless adjective
• grasslike adjective
• grassward adverb
• grasswards adverb
• undergrass noun
• ungrassed adjective

Etymology

Origin of grass

before 900; Middle English gras, Old English græs; cognate with Dutch, German, Old Norse, Gothic gras; akin to grow, green

Example Sentences

It will include a number of fruit trees and grass mounds created in the shape of organs such as a heart, liver and kidneys.

From BBC

The iPhone Clean Up tool did OK with the grass, but couldn’t make heads or tails of the tents in the background.

From The Wall Street Journal

That can involve advising on what to graze where and when, and how to manage grass.

From BBC

She says there’s nothing left “but a patch of grass” where they used to live.

From Los Angeles Times

About 6,000 people live in the town, which has an economic development webpage featuring images of a tractor, a duck and a pair of hunters standing in the tall grass.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• barley
• hay
• meadow
• pasture
• sod
• turf