moss

¹

[maws, mos]

noun

1. any tiny, leafy-stemmed, flowerless plant of the class Musci, reproducing by spores and growing in tufts, sods, or mats on moist ground, tree trunks, rocks, etc.

2. a growth of such plants.

3. any of various similar plants, as Iceland moss or club moss.

4. Chiefly Scot. and North England.,  a swamp or bog.

verb (used with object)

1. to cover with a growth of moss.

   to moss a crumbling wall.

Moss

²

[maws, mos]

noun

1. Howard, 1922–1987, U.S. poet, editor, and playwright.

moss

¹

/ mɒs /

noun

1. any bryophyte of the phylum Bryophyta , typically growing in dense mats on trees, rocks, moist ground, etc See also peat moss

2. a clump or growth of any of these plants

3. any of various similar but unrelated plants, such as club moss, Spanish moss, Ceylon moss, rose moss, and reindeer moss

4. a peat bog or marsh

Moss

²

/ mɒs /

noun

1. Kate . born 1974, British supermodel.

2. Sir Stirling. born 1929, English racing driver

moss

1. Any of various green, usually small nonvascular plants of the division Bryophyta. Mosses, unlike liverworts, have some tissues specialized for conducting water and nutrients. As in the other bryophytes, the diploid sporophyte grows on the haploid gametophyte generation, which supplies it with nutrients. Mosses often live in moist, shady areas and grow in clusters or mats. Sphagnum mosses play a crucial role in the ecology of peat bogs.

2. See more at bryophyte

3. Any of a number of plants that look like mosses but are not related to them. For instance, reindeer moss is a lichen, Irish moss is an alga, and Spanish moss is a bromeliad, a flowering plant.

Other Word Forms

• mosslike adjective
• unmossed adjective
• mossy adjective
• mossiness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of moss¹

before 1000; Middle English mos ( se ), Old English mos moss, bog; akin to German Moos, Old Norse mȳrr mire

Word History and Origins

Origin of moss¹

Old English mos swamp; compare Middle Dutch, Old High German mos bog, Old Norse mosi; compare also Old Norse mӯrr _mire

Idioms and Phrases

see rolling stone gathers no moss.

Example Sentences

Mr. Ambar does not spare us the horrifying details of each brutal mob act: As Lincoln described one scene, “dead men were seen literally dangling from the boughs of trees” like “Spanish moss.”

Read more on Wall Street Journal

I wanted to feel like a professor in the woods, so we purchased a bunch of used books from the Last Bookstore and stacked them along a winding pathway and then covered them with moss.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

An "extinction crisis" is happening in Britain's temperate rainforests where some of the world's rarest mosses, lichens and liverworts are vanishing, ecologists have warned.

Read more on BBC

Besides being overtaken by moss, ivy and ferns, Seattle’s surviving denizens have evolved from passive-aggressive to plain old aggressive.

Read more on Salon

Some residents pointed out that it appeared to be covered in moss and is slippery.

Read more on BBC