bluegrass
Americannoun
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any grass of the genus Poa, as the Kentucky bluegrass, P. pratensis, having dense tufts of bluish-green blades and creeping rhizomes.
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country music that is polyphonic in character and is played on unamplified stringed instruments, with emphasis especially on the solo banjo.
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the Bluegrass. Bluegrass Region.
noun
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any of several North American bluish-green grasses of the genus Poa , esp P. pratensis ( Kentucky bluegrass ), grown for forage
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a type of folk music originating in Kentucky, characterized by a simple harmonized accompaniment
Etymology
Origin of bluegrass
Explanation
Bluegrass is a type of country music that's quick and lively. Bluegrass is played with banjos and guitars. About a hundred years ago, William Smith Monroe was born near Rosine, Kentucky. His style of music, which we call bluegrass today, probably got its name from the name of his band, the Blue Grass Boys, which was in turn named after his home state of Kentucky, the Bluegrass State. Bluegrass is similar to other country music with the exception of tempo: it's much faster. This makes bluegrass popular as dance music — bluegrass makes you want to move your feet.
Vocabulary lists containing bluegrass
The Incredibly Human Henson Blayze
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Bye Forever, I Guess
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A Solitary Blue
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After the formality and diplomatic challenges of Washington DC, this was an opportunity to see a more relaxed side of the US, with bluegrass music and country rock blasting around the town square.
From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026
Stewart didn’t go for polyester suits or arenas, preferring the rough and rowdy “skull orchards” around Fort Pierce where he could alternate between hillbilly rock and progressive bluegrass.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
He's a massive Steelers fan, a music obsessive, and has played mandolin and guitar in bluegrass and country-rock bands in Brooklyn, Mexico City, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026
The Porter Wagoner Show came next, followed by cross-over to pop music, movies, a network television show, award-winning collaborations with Kenny Rogers, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, and landmark bluegrass albums.
From Salon • Jan. 19, 2026
She did not look back now, but went on and on, thinking of the bluegrass meadow that she had traversed when a little child, believing that it had no beginning and no end.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
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.
