buffalo grass

noun

a short grass, Buchloë dactyloides, having gray-green blades, prevalent on the dry plains east of the Rocky Mountains.

any of several short, tufted grasses that do not form continuous sod.

Nearby words

buffalo chips, buffalo cloth, buffalo currant, buffalo fish, buffalo gnat, buffalo grass, buffalo grove, buffalo neck, buffalo plaid, buffalo robe, buffalo soldier

Origin of buffalo grass

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for buffalo grass

It was a miniature paradise in the midst of a desert of sage-brush and buffalo-grass.
Last of the Great Scouts|Helen Cody Wetmore
Our road was generally over level uplands bordering the river, which were closely covered with a sward of buffalo-grass.
The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and California|Brevet Col. J.C. Fremont
Gallup looked dolefully at the horses, which were feeding on the buffalo-grass of the valley.
Frank Merriwell's Backers|Burt L. Standish
This is the "grama" or "buffalo-grass," and, despite its look of utter desiccation, is highly nutritious.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 85, November, 1864|Various

The trail led through the great fields of buffalo-grass, out of which gigantic solitary trees shot up a hundred feet into the air.
The Great White Tribe in Filipinia|Paul T. Gilbert

British Dictionary definitions for buffalo grass

buffalo grass

noun

a short grass, Buchloë dactyloides, growing on the dry plains of the central US

Australian a grass, Stenotaphrum americanum, introduced from North America

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012