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• moss
  moss

  noun

  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.
• Moss
  Moss

  noun

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

moss

¹ American  

[maws, mos] / mɔs, mɒs /

noun

• mosses
  plural

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.

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verb (used with object)

1. to cover with a growth of moss.

   to moss a crumbling wall.

Moss ² American  

[maws, mos] / mɔs, mɒs /

noun

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

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moss ¹ British  

/ 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

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Moss ² British  

/ mɒs /

noun

1. Kate . born 1974, British supermodel.

2. Sir Stirling. born 1929, English racing driver

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moss Scientific  

/ môs /

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.

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moss Idioms  

1. see rolling stone gathers no moss.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• mosses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of moss

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

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Explanation

Moss is a small green plant that grows, carpet-like, across moist, shady areas. If you see a green furry rock as you hike in a forest, chances are that's moss. Moss forms mats and clumps in wooded spots, and it's unusual in the plant world for several reasons, including the fact that it has no seeds and no real roots. It reproduces through spores and absorbs water through its tiny leaves. Long ago, people used moss to insulate dwellings, but today it's primarily used in gardens. The Old English root is meos, closely related to mos, "bog," which is a damp area where moss might grow.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

moss Moss mosses

The hero of bog creation, Ms. Turetsky relates, is sphagnum moss, one of nature’s most efficient sponges.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

Other species have long legs and live among moss, while some are sturdier frogs adapted to life on the ground.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

With dated production and too many songs that make a good first impression but fail to stick, “Steel Wheels” has gathered moss over the years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026

Carlini demonstrated how powerful Mythos can be one afternoon recently at Anthropic’s 10-story San Francisco headquarters, where moss walls, plants and artwork are designed to evoke the Pacific Coast Trail.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026

The moss under my scuffed boots glitters with dew, and there is a threadbare carpet of golden leaves beneath the sycamore tree.

From "How to Disappear Completely" by Ali Standish

His star shone brightly enough for the group to brand its collections "Saint Laurent by Anthony Vaccarello", while celebrity fans from Kate Moss, Dua Lipa, Zoe Saldana and Hailey Bieber gave him cross-generation appeal.

From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026

As an example of what people fear, hundreds of residents in Monterey County, Calif., were evacuated early last year after a fire broke out at the Moss Landing Power Plant, a battery storage site.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Berry said the Moss carder was "one of England's most threatened pollinators".

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust is leading a £907,000 three-year scheme alongside the University of Cambridge to recover the Moss carder species.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

Moss glanced to the side to see Javier keeping pace.

From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro

"This moss has just exploded. In the 1930s, native mosses would have been growing here instead," Greiff explains.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

It says high levels of rainfall, alongside relatively mild temperatures all year round, provide the right environment for rare lichens and mosses.

From BBC ● May 21, 2026

Their rich, sheltered microclimates are home to mosses, lichens, fungi and ferns, with some species rarely found outside the remaining fragments of Cumbrian woodland.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026

In 2025, he and several co-authors published another study examining the use of mosses and other bryophytes as evidence in criminal investigations.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2026

“They destroy the ground cover so that the birds and animals of the ferns and mosses have no home. I would never let one on my mountain—never.”

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

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