any plant of the family Gramineae, having jointed stems, sheathing leaves, and seedlike grains.
such plants collectively, as when cultivated in lawns or used as pasture for grazing animals or cut and dried as hay.
the grass-covered ground.
pasture.
Half the farm is grass.
Slang. marijuana.
grasses, stalks or sprays of grass.
filled with dried grasses.
the season of the new growth of grass.
to cover with grass or turf.
to feed with growing grass; pasture.
to lay (something) on the grass, as for the purpose of bleaching.
to feed on growing grass; graze.
to produce grass; become covered with grass.
go to grass, to retire from one's occupation or profession.
Many executives lack a sense of purpose after they have gone to grass.
let the grass grow under one's feet, to delay action, progress, etc.; become slack in one's efforts.
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
such plants collectively, in a lawn, meadow, etc
any similar plant, such as knotgrass, deergrass, or scurvy grass
ground on which such plants grow; a lawn, field, etc
ground on which animals are grazed; pasture
a slang word for marijuana
slang a person who informs, esp on criminals
short for sparrowgrass
informal an exclamation of disbelief
to squander time or opportunity
to retire (a racehorse)
informal to retire (a person)
to cover or become covered with grass
to feed or be fed with grass
(tr) to spread (cloth) out on grass for drying or bleaching in the sun
(tr) sport to knock or bring down (an opponent)
(tr) to shoot down (a bird)
(tr) to land (a fish) on a river bank
slang to inform, esp to the police
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.
See more at leaf
before 900; Middle English gras, Old English græs; cognate with Dutch, German, Old Norse, Gothic gras; akin to grow, green
That short green stuff all over the front lawn is grass. What could be better than lying in the grass on a summer afternoon, gazing up at puffy clouds in a blue sky? The word grass goes back to a root that means "green." You're probably familiar with the grass in back yards and city parks. There's also the grass that covers pastures, meant for cows and sheep to graze on, and the grass of grasslands, growing wild on every continent except Antarctica. If you express envy, you may hear the phrase, "The grass is always greener on the other side." In other words, somehow other people's lives always seem better.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“The parks are open, we changed the grass. You know, grass has a life, also. Like people, grass has a life, and that grass hasn’t changed in 70 or 80 years.”
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
“You get good healthcare, nice leisurely lunches, it’s a different way of life,” he said, “It’s not that the grass is always greener, these are just facts.”
From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026
As I ambled past groups doing yoga and vacationing families lounging on the grass, pain started to radiate through my ankles and up my shinbones before settling uncomfortably in my hips.
From Slate • Jun. 5, 2026
Its rotting parts lie in the grass near a city sewage treatment plant.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 4, 2026
He bends down to pick up a stray weed in the middle of the grass.
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
